Man Who Posed as Saudi Prince Gets 2 Years

Anthony Gignac, who conned the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, two limousine companies and several Beverly Hills boutiques out of $12,000 while masquerading as a Saudi prince, was sentenced to two years in prison Monday.

Gignac, 21, known to his victims as Prince Omar Al-Saud and Prince Khalil Bil Al-Saud, offered a $1,000 check to help make up his victims’ losses and promised to come up with another $1,000 if he was placed on probation. But Judge J.L. Weisberg of Santa Monica Superior Court said that Gignac’s juvenile record, which includes similar scams in Pacific Palisades as well as Washington, D.C., and Virginia, indicated that jail time should be served.

Gignac, born in Bogota, Colombia, grew up in Michigan but managed to convince even Arabs of his legitimacy. His probation report said that he was so good at deception that “it is doubtful he will give it up for a mundane existence.”