Medi Abalimba conned his way into a lavish lifestyle, dating Love Island’s Georgia Steel and duping Thierry Henry’s ex-wife Claire Merry along the way.
His story is perhaps most famously known on ITVX’s documentary “The Football Fraudster” – which aired last year.
So, as we approach international fraud awareness week, we look into his life and how you can reclaim your money if you’ve been the victim of a scam.
Who is Medi Abalimba?
Medi Abalimba, now aged 34, was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Due to hostile tensions in the country, he moved to London with his family at the age of five and grew up in the capital city.
He originally wished to become a professional footballer – and started his career on a promising note. After trials at Manchester City, Manchester United, and Liverpool, he eventually played for Southend’s youth team before signing for Derby County.
However, Abalimba would never make a first team appearance at the Rams and, after injuries hampered his career, he eventually found himself playing in England’s seventh tier for Corby Town. In order to keep paying the bills, he worked part-time at a taxi firm during this period before embarking on his criminal life.
How did the football fraudster scam Georgia Steel and Thierry Henry’s ex-wife?
Abalimba was first convicted for fraud related offences in 2013, which saw him serve six months in prison for his crimes.
He would then go on to commit a series of other scams before meeting Georgia Steel, the former Love Island contestant, in a nightclub in Mayfair, London.
Abalimba told her his name was “Miguel Johnson”, a US government agent, and the two began a brief romantic relationship. After a photo of the two started circulating around the media, his true identity was revealed.
Steel’s manager broke the news to her. But, Abalimba had already pocketed thousands of pounds of Steel’s money.
The football fraudster’s scams wouldn’t stop there.
While in prison, Abalimba started a relationship with Claire Merry, a model and former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry’s ex-wife. He also hid under the alias “Miguel Johnson” and told her he was a Navy SEAL.
The two would speak over the phone while he was in prison, but he told Merry he was on duty in Kuwait.
Upon his release, the two would meet up before Abalimba’s real name would be exposed again. By this time the conman had stolen thousands.
Abalimba would also commit a series of other fraudulent offences, such as impersonating former Chelsea footballer Gael Kakuta and the agent of an NFL star to earn luxurious freebies.
Romance scams are more common than you think
“Sadly, as shocking as this case will seem to many, it’s not uncommon,” said Jessica Hampson, a fraud and scam expert and joint CEO of CEL Solicitors.
“I applaud Georgia Steel, and others, for sharing their experience which will go some way towards breaking the stigma associated with romance and impersonation scams,” she said.
Hampson also noted that this documentary proves scams can happen to anyone.
In one case investigated by CEL Solicitors, a woman lost over £135,000 through a similar romance-based scam.
The 67-year-old woman met the scammer on Meetup, an online social platform. While the relationship started off as a friendship, the woman began developing romantic feelings for the scammer.
The two would speak on the phone every day, and this was when he told her he was an American business owner working in London.
The relationship developed during the covid-19 pandemic, when lockdown restrictions were in place. During this period the criminal persuaded his victim to send over money for various uses, like medical bills and to pay his staff.
Over two years she sent over £130,000 to the scammer, and in the aftermath she came close to selling her house to deal with the financial losses.
Her bank said there was nothing they could do to recover her money, but after getting in touch with CEL Solicitors she managed to claim £135,000 of her funds plus interest back.
“These kinds of scams are often very convincing,” said Paul Hampson, a fraud specialist and joint CEO at CEL Solicitors.
“That is why when we assist our clients with scams of this kind, not only do we try and help recover their money, but we provide advice on how to avoid similar scams in the future as often victims are retargeted,” he said.
How to recover your funds if you’ve been the victim of a scam
To appear more convincing, scammers often use a range of tactics to steal your money, like offering an “investment opportunity” which promises market-beating returns to a failsafe sports betting promise.
That’s why CEL Solicitors maintains that there’s no shame in admitting that you’ve been part of a scam. Instead, it’s worth sharing your experience and seeing if there’s a way to reclaim your money.
The first step is to immediately contact your banking provider. Under consumer protection regulations, it has a duty to safeguard your money from criminals and it could reimburse your losses.
If this doesn’t yield any results, then consider getting in touch with CEL Solicitors instead.
The firm, which is rated excellent on Trustpilot, specialises in fraud and scam cases and has helped thousands of people win back over £100 million from scams.
CEL Solicitors works on a no-win no-fee basis when bringing claims against banks and payment providers, where it feels more could have been done to detect and prevent the fraud.
This means it will only charge a fee for its services if your case is successful. In cases involving cryptocurrency, it also offers a cryptocurrency tracing service. And, in cases where a scammer can be identified, it can pursue them through the courts.
Commenting on the recovery process, Paul Hampson added: “Recovering money lost to scammers can be complicated as this is an evolving area of law.
These type of scams are new to the police and courts but the law is slowly catching up with more legal protections being extended to consumers over time.
We leave no stone unturned when reviewing every possible means of recovery. This includes seeking reimbursement from banks and payment providers, including escalating complaints to the Financial Ombudsman, if we feel more could have been done to detect and prevent the fraud.
We can also investigate and trace digital assets in scams involving cryptocurrency. Finally, if the scammer can be identified, we can pursue them through the courts. Time is of the essence when it comes to recovery from the scammer so the sooner that we are instructed the better, as this gives us a better chance of recovery.”
