U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga sentenced 48-year-old Miami resident Anthony Gignac to 18 years in prison Friday for impersonating a member of Saudi Arabia's royal family to swindle about $8 million from investors in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Hong Kong.

Since May 2015, Gignac pretended to be Prince Khalid Bin Al-Saud while running fraudulent investment company Marden International LLC with a co-conspirator.

Jeffrey Soffer, owner of Miami Beach's Fontainebleau resort, was among the fraud victims, according to court filings.

Gignac led a lavish lifestyle, according to prosecutors, flying in private jets and sailing in luxury yachts. He also accepted flashy gifts, including paintings, jewelry and memorabilia, fitted his car with fake diplomatic license plates and his bodyguards with fake diplomatic security badges. Gignac's business cards labeled him “His Royal Highness” and “Sultan,” while his Instagram account kept up the charade with posts about the Saudi royals, even captioning photos of the king with “my dad.”

Gignac forged documents purporting to give investors a slice of Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, and conned investors into thinking he had links to multiple businesses, including an Irish pharmaceutical company, a Maltese casino and a Middle Eastern jet-fuel trading platform.

“[Gignac] sold his victims on hope for their families, careers and future,” U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan said in a press release issued Friday. “Today, in a federal court of law, justice spoke for the victims, and Anthony Gignac will now face years in prison.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederic Shadley prosecuted the case, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff handled asset forfeiture.

Miami Assistant Federal Public Defender Ayana N. Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but read excerpts of a statement from Gignac's brother Daniel at the sentencing, who said the brothers were adopted at a young age by a Michigan family after their Colombian parents abandoned them.

“This horrific history is the underlying reason for his criminal life,” Harris said on Daniel Gignac's behalf.

Gignac has been arrested and convicted for 11 different “prince-related schemes” since 1988, according to prosecutors. His case is scheduled for a resolution hearing at 2 p.m. on Aug. 30.

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