Ohio Brothers Posing as Middle Eastern Royalty Get 23 and 24 Years for $21 Million Fraud Schemes

Two Ohio brothers who posed as Middle Eastern royalty received prison sentences Tuesday for their roles in fraud schemes totaling about $21 million. Prosecutors said the pair carried out the schemes with help from a former East Cleveland mayoral aide.

Zubair Al Zubair, about 42, and Muzzammil Al Zubair, about 31, drew 24 and 23 years in prison, respectively, according to Cleveland.com. "You stole a lot of money, defrauded people and put East Cleveland in a terrible light," U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent told the brothers. "You basically flaunted it by driving around in a Rolls Royce and taking private planes."

The brothers bribed Michael Smedley, the 56-year-old former chief of staff to the mayor. He received a sentence of just over eight years for giving them cover to run the schemes from 2020 to 2023, the outlet reported.

Authorities said the brothers created a false image of vast wealth and high-level ties. Zubair claimed marriage to a United Arab Emirates princess. Muzzammil posed as a hedge fund manager after watching YouTube videos.

Their spending included private jets, luxury watches, high-end cars, dozens of firearms and a custom gold-plated AK-47-style rifle. They chartered jets for shopping trips to Aspen, Miami, London, Bucharest and Madrid, federal officials said.

Prosecutors detailed multiple schemes to take money and property from victims. Zubair's former girlfriend from the UAE lost $737,000, Cleveland.com reported. The brothers also defrauded a Chinese investor of nearly $18 million by falsely claiming ownership of an industrial complex and plans for a cryptocurrency business there.

To win Smedley's aid, they gave him gifts, meals, cash, Cleveland Browns suite tickets, Japanese wagyu beef, cigars and upscale dining, plus promises of jobs. In return, Smedley used his city post to help them. He tried to get state funding for their businesses, supplied official letterhead, issued police credentials and named Zubair an "International Economic Advisor" for East Cleveland.

A federal jury convicted all three men after a two-week trial. They found them guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery involving programs receiving federal funds, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and Hobbs Act conspiracy. The brothers faced additional convictions on multiple counts of wire fraud, money laundering and theft of government funds.