From charming con artists to tech-savvy tricksters, some fraudsters have taken impersonation to jaw-dropping extremes. These real-world cases, reminiscent of Catch Me If You Can, prove that truth can be stranger than fiction.
The Prince of Deception: Anthony Gignac
Anthony Gignac, born José Moreno in Colombia, spent decades masquerading as Saudi royalty, specifically Prince Khalid bin Al Saud. His elaborate schemes involved defrauding investors of over $8 million by promising lucrative deals backed by his fictitious royal persona. Gignac’s downfall came when he ordered pork at a restaurant—a slip that raised suspicions about his claimed Muslim identity. In 2019, he was sentenced to over 18 years in prison for fraud, identity theft, and impersonating a foreign diplomat.
Love and Lies: The Tinder Swindler
Simon Leviev, whose real name is Shimon Hayut, posed as the son of a billionaire diamond mogul to con women he met on Tinder. He would woo them with lavish gifts and then fabricate stories about being targeted by enemies, prompting his victims to lend him money. Leviev’s scams spanned multiple countries and amassed millions of dollars. In 2019, he was arrested in Greece for using a forged passport and later sentenced to 15 months in prison in Israel, though he served only five months.
The Football Fraudster: Medi Abalimba
Medi Abalimba, a former footballer, turned to a life of crime after injuries ended his sports career. He impersonated various individuals, including US government agents and professional athletes, to sustain a lavish lifestyle. Notably, he deceived Love Island star Georgia Steel and model Claire Merry, ex-wife of Thierry Henry, out of thousands of pounds. Abalimba’s scams involved luxury hotels, expensive cars, and even dating under false identities.
The Art of the Con: Anna Delvey
Anna Sorokin, known as Anna Delvey, posed as a wealthy German heiress to infiltrate New York’s elite social scene. From 2013 to 2017, she scammed hotels, banks, and friends out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Her elaborate lies included plans to open a lavish arts club and using fake financial documents to secure loans. In 2019, she was convicted of multiple counts of theft and grand larceny, resulting in a sentence of 4 to 12 years in prison.
The Voice Faker: AI-Powered CEO Impersonation
In a groundbreaking case of cyber fraud, criminals used artificial intelligence to clone a CEO’s voice, convincing an employee to transfer $243,000 to a fraudulent account. This incident marked one of the first known uses of AI-generated deepfake audio in a financial scam, highlighting the growing sophistication of cybercriminals.
The Inmate Investor: Arthur Cofield Jr.
While serving time in a maximum-security prison, Arthur Cofield Jr. managed to steal millions from billionaire Sidney Kimmel by impersonating him and orchestrating the purchase of gold bars. Using smuggled cell phones and accomplices outside prison, Cofield directed the scheme from behind bars, exploiting vulnerabilities in financial systems. His actions led to multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and identity theft.
The Academic Impersonator: Raphael Golb
Raphael Golb, son of a prominent Dead Sea Scrolls scholar, created fake email accounts to impersonate his father’s academic rivals, sending messages that admitted to plagiarism in an attempt to discredit them. His actions led to a conviction for identity theft and criminal impersonation, with the court rejecting his defense that the emails were satirical.
The Original Conman: Frank Abagnale Jr.
Frank Abagnale Jr.’s life of deception began in the 1960s when, as a teenager, he impersonated a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and lawyer, forging checks worth millions. His exploits were later popularized in the film Catch Me If You Can. After serving prison time, Abagnale turned his life around, becoming a consultant for the FBI on fraud prevention.
