Recently, a pair of "Middle Eastern Prince" brothers were separately sentenced to 24 years and 23 years in prison in the United States, and were also ordered to pay a total of $21.2 million in compensation and back taxes.

These two individuals have always claimed to be members of a Middle Eastern royal family, but in reality, they fabricated their own identities. Through fictitious investment projects and a cryptocurrency mining scheme, they deceived a group of investors and received $21 million in ill-gotten gains over more than three years.

For those who have watched a short drama, please imagine that you have become the CEO in the drama, attending a luxurious high-end business and political gathering, where you meet a pair of Middle Eastern Prince brothers:

The elder brother is the mature and steady heir to a Middle Eastern wealthy family, married to a UAE royal princess, and officially appointed as an "International Economic Advisor" by the local government. The younger brother is a young hedge fund manager who understands finance and is involved in a high-tech cryptocurrency project.

Most importantly, the person who introduced you to these brothers is the mayor's assistant, who mingles in the most elite local circles every day.

Then they ask you, would you like to join them in getting rich, investing in high-yield projects, and achieving financial freedom together?

Don't say it's just you, I'm already tempted to invest just by listening to the story.

Unfortunately, in reality, investing without due diligence often leads to total loss, with no chance of recovery.

1. Poor Brothers Pretend to Be Middle Eastern Princes, Rent Rolls-Royce + Private Jet Relied on Acting Skills?

Recently, a pair of "Middle Eastern Prince" brothers were separately sentenced to 24 years and 23 years in prison in the United States, and were also ordered to pay a total of $21.2 million in compensation and back taxes.

These two individuals have always claimed to be members of a Middle Eastern royal family, but in reality, they fabricated their own identities. Through fictitious investment projects and a cryptocurrency mining scheme, they deceived a group of investors and received funds used to purchase a private jet, luxury cars, watches, and even a gold-plated AK-47. They globetrotted for shopping tours, accumulating $21 million over three years (approximately 140 million RMB).

The elder brother among the two is named Zubair Al-Zubair, and the younger brother is named Muzammil Al-Zubair. Given that one is chubby and the other is lean, let's call them Big Bro and Skinny Bro.

Fatty, 42 years old this year, and Skinny, 33 years old this year, not only dress to impress but also have an impressive persona:

Fatty openly claims to have married a UAE princess, is a member of the UAE royal family with the right to a vast fortune, drives luxury cars, is surrounded by bodyguards and beauties, and has been appointed as the "International Economic Advisor" of the City of East Cleveland.

Skinny, on the other hand, is a hedge fund manager managing the huge funds of the UAE royal family, catering specifically to high-net-worth individuals and global investors. In reality, Skinny doesn't even have a degree; his ability to chat for hours about financial knowledge comes from the TV series "Billions" he watches.

To be more convincing, they spare no expense renting Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, and other luxury cars, flying by private jet to travel the world, and flaunting their wealth on social media.

They even set up a company website, exuding a strong "Gulf" vibe from the name to the photos:

Most importantly, they have a real big shot to endorse them! No, it's the big shot's secretary, who is Smythley, the Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant to the Mayor of East Cleveland, equivalent to the Mayor's chief secretary.

The brothers often treat the Chief to high-end restaurants for Japanese Wagyu, Brazilian cigars, French fine wines, and even gifted the Chief a luxury box seat at a football game. They even promised the Chief a high-paying position at their company in the future for a luxurious retirement.

Anyway, it's unclear whether the Chief was being deceived or was a partner in crime, but he provided a lot of help to the two brothers. He appointed Fatty as the "International Economic Advisor" to the city, issued recommendation letters and project support letters with the city government's letterhead to the brothers, utilized government funds to support their investment projects, provided a "police-escorted convoy" and government office space for the brothers to deceive investors into signing contracts, and even arranged for a group of local officials to attend important events.

With everything in place, the two brothers began to solicit investments.

As for the investment project, everyone can relax as an investor named "Dubai Bridge Investments" will take the lead, and other investors will merely follow.

The investment target is an extensive industrial park with ready-made factory buildings and land:

Where is this place? It's Nela Park in the industrial park of East Cleveland. It used to be the General Electric Lighting headquarters, Edison's base, and the very first planned industrial park in American history where Einstein held seminars with GE experts.

For friends in Beijing, this park is like the Shougang Park, formerly an industrial area, now transformed into abandoned factory buildings open to the public.

The two brothers' scam focused on the years 2020-2023, during which they announced to the public that this place was about to be reborn as a cryptocurrency mining farm for Bitcoin, kicking off a series of large-scale cons.

2. Chinese Investor Scammed $12 million, Even His Own Girlfriend Wasn't Spared?

In fact, not many local white wealthy individuals were swindled by these two brothers.

Among the victims, the big fish was a Chinese investor who, out of the $21 million scammed by the two brothers, contributed $18 million. This Chinese investor is a wealthy woman from Sichuan who, in her early years, allegedly operated a Bitcoin mining farm in Ya'an, earning a fortune using cheap hydroelectric power and gaining some fame in the crypto community.

Later, when mining was banned in China, she went to the United States and coincidentally ended up in East Cleveland, Ohio, where she encountered the two brothers. The brothers promised that the cryptocurrency mining farm project would receive special electricity discounts from the local government and tax exemptions.

U.S. media reported that this Chinese investor was initially asked to pay about $3 million in cash and additionally purchase around $6 million worth of mining machines and equipment to be deployed in the so-called industrial park. There were further requests for additional investment and operational funds, resulting in a total loss approaching $18 million.

The $6 million worth of mining equipment here included over 1,000 mining rigs, which the two brothers stealthily took away and resold for $5.5 million.

However, the wealthy woman was a seasoned player in the crypto world, and her team kept an eye on these devices. They quickly discovered that the mining power data of over 1,000 rigs had been reset to zero. When they called Big Brother to inquire, he claimed, "The Ohio power grid is being upgraded and temporarily shut down. Rest assured, these losses will be subsidized by the government."

You can't fool someone forever with a lie. When there was no progress a month later, the wealthy woman flew to Cleveland to find Big Brother. Despite Big Brother's sophistry, he gave her an $800,000 check, claiming it was the first-quarter share, asking her not to cause trouble. This amount couldn't placate the wealthy woman, and she quickly began investigating them. The FBI and IRS joined forces and found that the two brothers had a substantial unexplained source of income, engaged in tax evasion, and finally, a thorough investigation uncovered the involvement of the mayor's chief of staff.

What's more ruthless is that Big Brother even scammed his ex-girlfriend from the UAE, taking $737,000 (about ¥5.01 million). It's not just one ex-girlfriend; most of those swindled by Big Brother are women, many of whom fell for him due to romantic relationships. He had a strong controlling nature, and these wealthy women were obedient when being scammed. If it weren't for the powerful woman from Sichuan, it wouldn't have been easy to catch them.

Finally, the local court ruled:

Fat Brother, 24 years with an additional 3 years of supervision after serving his sentence; Skinny Brother, 23 years with an additional 3 years of supervision after serving his sentence; Big Boss, 8 years and one month, also with an additional 3 years of supervision after serving the sentence.

Regarding money, they are required to repay the defrauded investors $19.2 million. In addition, the brothers also need to pay $2.05 million in taxes and interest to the national tax bureau. However, it is highly unlikely that this money will be recovered.

As for their assets, all they have left are 70 guns (including a gold-plated AK-47) and a motorcycle, all of which have been confiscated. The airplanes they used to fly, the Rolls-Royces they drove, and the mansions they lived in were all rented.

3. “Middle Eastern Fake Prince” Emerges, Astute Tycoons Also Need Anti-Fraud Apps

When it comes to Middle Easterners, people often associate them with being tycoons, with the young ones being princes and the older ones being royalty. As a result, more and more incidents are occurring where individuals claim to be “Middle Eastern Princes,” “Dubai Princes,” or “UAE Princes” to deceive others.

In early 2024, there was a self-proclaimed Prince Ali Al-Maktoum who claimed to be the “Dubai Prince” and boasted that he would invest $500 million in establishing a family office in Hong Kong, China.

This was a huge amount, over 3 billion Chinese yuan, and immediately caused a sensation. However, on the day before the opening of the family office he was supposed to establish, this young man disappeared and urgently flew back to Dubai.

Soon after, the South China Morning Post discovered that this “Dubai Prince” was actually a Filipino singer who had previously been interviewed, saying,

“My parents are pure Dubai natives with no Filipino blood, but because I like the kindness and enthusiasm of Filipinos, I sing Filipino songs.”

As further investigation unfolded, it was revealed that before the official establishment of the family office in Hong Kong, there were already two individuals in charge. The executive director was Cheng Zhang, who operated a cryptocurrency platform and had previously been warned by the U.S. SEC, and the deputy CEO was Mai Yirui, whose Mid-Tang Iron and Steel had long been a discredited company.

However, Shen Yunlong, the founding president of the “China Hong Kong Middle East Trade Association,” claimed that he had personally seen Ali’s passport, which did indeed bear the title of Sheikh and “HH” (indicating His Highness the Prince), and the letterhead was imprinted with the national emblem.

In response to media inquiries, the UAE Consulate General in Hong Kong confirmed that Prince Ali did indeed “come from a ruling family” and could be addressed as “Sheikh.” However, Prince Ali and UAE Vice President Mohammed Al Maktoum were at most distant relatives. As for the $500 million to establish the family office, there was no trace of such funds.

This Alibaba is not the first "Dubai Prince" to come and deceive.

In the 2023 "Shenzhen Financial Scam of the Century" case, there were two "Dubai Princes."

The affiliated companies of the Century Dingyi once claimed on many internet platforms that a Middle Eastern consortium was interested in investing in them:

An Emirati prince would establish a $700 billion fund's China office in Century Dingyi; while an Emirati crown prince was in talks to entrust the management of a $25 trillion national sovereign fund to Dingyi Century Dingyi's CEO Sui Guangyi for investment.

The promotional video introduced that Sheikh Mohammed bin Juma Al-Kasimi, from Sharjah, UAE, and other relevant people from Century Dingyi conducted cooperative investigations. The investment was also elaborately described: "The Emirati prince on behalf of the royal family visited the group and engaged in cooperation," "Both parties have signed a contract, with an intention to invest $30 billion, with an initial $1 billion."

However, Century Dingyi's old hand Sui Guangyi was originally a fraudster, and the two "Dubai Princes" he brought in may just be a facade, considering he had invited many former foreign dignitaries to his annual conference.

From this perspective, Middle Eastern princes who come to China to show off and deceive usually don't last long; those who can deceive in the long run have to look at the United States.

In 2019, a Colombian young man was sentenced to prison in the United States. His name was Anthony Gignac, who had impersonated a Saudi prince for over thirty years.

Anthony had been operating under the identity of a "Saudi royal family member" since he was 18 years old, always dressed in traditional Saudi attire, living in a penthouse in Miami's wealthy area, traveling either in a Rolls-Royce or a Ferrari, with diplomatic license plates. He frequently flaunted his lifestyle on Instagram, showing off planes, yachts, sports cars, Rolex watches, and more.

He was always surrounded by a group of butlers and bodyguards, had someone dedicated to handling his business affairs, and enjoyed "FaceTiming with his king father."

He claimed to be "Prince Khalid" to the public, and besides wining and dining through deception, he successfully convinced the American Express company to issue him a $200 million credit card. He also used the guise of "Saudi Aramco" to deceive nearly twenty investors of nearly $8 million! Finally, he attempted to "acquire" a 30% stake in the Mandarin Oriental Miami hotel for $440 million, but the deal fell through.

In 2017, at a banquet, this "Prince Khalid" ordered a dish of Italian prosciutto. Soon, the news of the "Muslim prince eating pork" spread throughout Miami's wealthy circles. The deceived millionaires collectively began to investigate and quickly caught him at the airport. Ultimately, he was sentenced to 18 years and 8 months in prison in 2019.

Fake billionaires have many tricks, but fortunately, they target only the wealthy. They can't scam us ordinary people.

So, wealthy folks, stay vigilant!

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