An American jury has convicted a California woman of fraud after she reportedly made false claims of having high-level connections to members of the Saudi royal family, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week.
According to a DOJ statement, the woman, 68-year old Manhattan Beach resident Gayle Hassan Al-Said, was found to have defrauded investors in Detroit and used their investment funds for her own benefit, including purchases at luxury retail stores in Europe, payment for a plastic surgeon, and cash transfers to herself and family members.
Additionally, officials said that Al-Said also used investor funds to make a down payment on a $4 million home, as well as rent a flat in London for $16,000 a month.
Her investors, however, were told that their money would be placed in risk-free trust accounts.
DOJ investigators also found that Al-Said was claiming to have connections to members of the Saudi royal family, and represented herself as the CEO and chairwoman of several international banks, all of which were later discovered to be shell companies that were not involved in banking.
In total, Al-Said’s activities caused approximately $1.3 million in losses to investors, according to the DOJ. She now faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the eight counts of wire fraud she has been found guilty of.
Al-Said is scheduled for sentencing on January 8 of next year.
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