Scammer - who posed as Premier League footballer - back in jail after international manhunt
His victims included a Thierry Henry's ex-wife and a Love island contestant
Last updated 24th Feb 2025
A man, with links to Derby, who posed as a Premier League footballer to scam victims out of thousands of pounds is back in jail after being recalled to prison.
Medi Abalimba became a worldwide name after Thierry Henry's ex wife Claire Merry and former Love Island contestant Georgia Steel appeared in a Netflix documentary to describe how they had been duped by him.
His victims were tricked into funding his lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels, helicopter trips and worldwide travel.
The 35-year-old, who has previously lived in Derby, had been convicted of fraud on a number of occasions, including scamming a city taxi company of nearly £10k.
Following his most recent conviction, where he was jailed for four years and two months, Abalimba fled the UK in early 2023, breaching the conditions of his licence.
PC Sarah Baker, who works in Derbyshire Constabulary's International Liaison Office which specialises in tracking down foreign national offenders, worked with countries around the world in a bid to trace Abalimba, discovering that he had changed his name to Michi Jordan and was travelling on a new passport.
PC Baker said: “Given his extensive offending there was a real concern that, armed with a new name, he could begin targeting new victims.
“However, the USA takes seriously foreign nationals who have not declared their criminal convictions, and he was quickly located and arrested by US authorities.”
Following his arrest he was extradited back to the UK on 28 January 2025 where he was arrested the following day and recalled to prison - where he will remain until October 2026.
PC Baker said: “Abalimba lives a life filled with deception and even after serving prison sentences, his fraudulent activities have continued.
“It has been a lengthy process to track him down and ensure he is brought back to the UK but I am pleased that we have now managed to achieve this thanks to work with a number of international law enforcement agencies.
“I’m grateful to all those who have helped with tracking him down and ensuring that he is once again behind bars and cannot cause further misery to unsuspecting victims.”
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