In early May, a court sentenced Zubair Al Zubair, 42, to 24 years in prison, and his younger brother, Muzzammil Al Zubair, 31, to 23 years. The two defendants were ordered to pay 21 million USD in restitution. Their accomplice, Michael Smedley, 56, former chief of staff to the mayor of East Cleveland, received a sentence of 8 years and one month for his role.
Court documents revealed that Zubair fabricated a story about marrying a princess from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This elaborate tale created a facade for him to gain access to government officials and wealthy investors. Meanwhile, Muzzammil complemented the deception by claiming to be an experienced hedge fund manager. In reality, he acquired his investment knowledge from YouTube videos and by watching the television show "Billionaire".
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Zubair Al Zubair fabricated a story about marrying a princess in the UAE to commit fraud. *Photo: NyPost* |
Operating under this "royal" guise, the Zubair brothers successfully carried out numerous fraudulent schemes from 2020 to 2023. Among their victims was Zubair's former girlfriend, who was defrauded of 737,000 USD.
The group once signed a contract with a Chinese businesswoman at city hall, witnessed by many officials. The victim transferred over 1,000 cryptocurrency mining machines, valued at approximately 8,8 million USD, to the Nela Park area. The Zubair brothers subsequently seized these machines and resold them for 5,5 million USD, an incident that led to the investor's business going bankrupt.
To conceal their actions and enhance their scheme's credibility, Zubair bribed Michael Smedley, the chief of staff for East Cleveland. Smedley received cash, VIP sports tickets, Wagyu beef, cigars, and luxury dinners. In return, Smedley granted Zubair the title of "International Economic Advisor" for the city.
With the stolen funds, the two brothers traveled by private jet to luxury resorts in Europe and the Americas. They purchased expensive watches, a fleet of luxury cars, and dozens of firearms, including a custom-made, gold-plated rifle.
"The defendants stole a large amount of money and negatively impacted the city's reputation", Judge Donald Nugent stated in court.
Nhat Minh (Source: Yahoo, Cleveland)
