Make-Believe Saudi Sheik Given 3 Years for Loan Fraud

A man pretending to be a Saudi Arabian sheik, who once tried to buy the Landmark Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas before he was exposed as a fraud, was sentenced Thursday to serve three years in federal prison for a $300,000 loan fraud scheme.

Gamal Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, 60, defrauded borrowers in California, Detroit and Colorado by collecting fees and promising that he would secure loans from unnamed Middle Easterners, according to a July, 1985, indictment. He pleaded no contest to 10 wire fraud charges last month.

Aziz, also known as James Albert Dumont, was actually born in Arnold, Pa., and served in the U.S. Army in Korea, according to federal prosecutors.

Dressed in flowing robes and traveling in luxurious style, Aziz collected the fees through his Arabian Development Corp., but he never provided the loans, Asst. U.S. Atty. Anita Dymant said Thursday. She said most of the money that he collected was spent on hotel suites, expensive cars and international travel.

Besides the jail term, U.S. District Judge Robert Takasugi ordered Aziz to pay $56,000 in restitution, which means the investors will receive about 20% of the money they lost. Aziz, a slight, bearded man, has been under psychiatric care since the 1950s when he was court-martialed for impersonating an Army officer, according to a court-ordered psychiatric report filed in federal court.

After serving in the Army, he worked in New York City as an appliance salesman. He moved to Las Vegas in the late 1960s and operated an Arab restaurant until it was closed for failure to pay payroll taxes.

In 1977, flanked by an interpreter and his attorney, Aziz called a press conference to announce plans to build a $75-million, 1,500-room, Sheik Gamal Hotel and Casino behind the MGM Grand, according to Las Vegas newspaper accounts.

That project fell through, but in 1978 Gamal made a $13.5-million offer for the Landmark, then owned by the Summa Corp., the holding company created by the late billionaire Howard Hughes. Two days after Gamal made his offer, an attorney representing Gamal’s former wife exposed Gamal’s true identity to a Clark County judge who was supervising the Landmark sale.

Despite his luxurious life style, Gamal qualified for a public defender because he lives on a $1,372 monthly disability payment and $468 in Social Security benefits, according to court records.