Two brothers from Ohio who posed as Middle Eastern royalty and defrauded victims of approximately $21 million have been jailed for a combined 47 years, capping a brazen scheme that involved bribing a city official for official titles and credentials.
The Con
Zubair Al Zubair, 42, and his younger brother Muzzammil Al Zubair, 31, presented themselves as wealthy insiders connected to royal families in the Gulf. Zubair claimed to be married to a United Arab Emirates princess and styled himself as “His Excellency,” while Muzzammil insisted he was a prescient hedge fund manager whose financial expertise came from watching the HBO show Billions and YouTube videos.
In reality, the brothers were from Ohio and had no royal ties. They operated under a fictitious company named Dubai Bridge Investments and adopted the surname “Al-Zubair” in 2021, taking it from Zubair Corp, a conglomerate based in Oman.
Their largest single fraud targeted a Chinese investor who was conned out of $17.8 million. The brothers told her they owned the vacant Nela Park industrial complex — formerly the headquarters of GE Lighting in East Cleveland — and planned to launch a cryptocurrency business there. They fabricated ownership claims and used official-looking documents to seal the deal.
Other victims included a Chinese woman who owned a cryptocurrency mining business and lost $9 million, and Zubair’s ex-girlfriend from the UAE, who lost $737,000, according to court documents. The brothers also ran schemes involving oilfield investments, commercial and residential real estate, COVID-19 relief fraud through the Small Business Administration, and an international plot to sell military munitions — which prosecutors said was intended only to collect a commission, not to complete a legitimate sale.
Lavish Spending
The brothers spent their ill-gotten gains on a lifestyle of extraordinary excess. They travelled by private jet on shopping trips to London, Aspen, Miami, Bucharest and Madrid. They stayed at high-end hotels, dined at multiple restaurants, and even visited the Greater Cleveland Aquarium.
Their vehicle collection included a Rolls Royce, a Lamborghini, a Porsche, a Mercedes, a Range Rover and a 2021 Indian Scout motorcycle. They acquired more than 80 firearms, among them a custom-made, gold-plated AK-47-style rifle. They also bought high-end watches, jewellery and other luxury goods.
Bribery and Sentencing
To give their fraud an air of legitimacy, the brothers corrupted Michael Smedley, then the chief of staff to the mayor of East Cleveland. Smedley, now 56, was bribed with expensive gifts and meals, cash payments, Cleveland Browns suite tickets, prized Japanese wagyu beef, cigars, upscale dining and promises of future employment.
In return, Smedley abused his position to provide the brothers with official titles, business cards, letterheads and police credentials. He appointed Zubair as an “International Economic Advisor” for East Cleveland, attempted to secure state funding for their fake projects, provided official city documents, and issued police badges. The brothers also involved then-Mayor Brandon King in their schemes, including using his office for ceremonial contract signings; King was later convicted on separate corruption charges.
After a two-week trial in federal court, a jury in February 2026 convicted all three men on multiple counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery involving programs receiving federal funds, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, and Hobbs Act conspiracy. The brothers also faced charges of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of government funds and tax-related offences.
On May 5, 2026, US District Judge Donald Nugent sentenced Zubair to 24 years in prison and Muzzammil to 23 years. Smedley received eight years and one month. “You stole a lot of money, defrauded people and put East Cleveland in a terrible light,” the judge told them. “You basically flaunted it by driving around in a Rolls Royce and taking private planes.”
The brothers were ordered to pay approximately $19.2 million in restitution to their victims. Zubair was ordered to pay more than $1.7 million in back taxes and interest to the IRS, while Muzzammil was ordered to pay over $300,000. They also forfeited 70 firearms and the motorcycle.
It emerged during the proceedings that Smedley had previously been sentenced to five years in prison in 2017 for a £500,000 fraud scheme involving his partner while he was a dean at Edge Hill University, according to court records.
All three men have filed appeals, and their motions for release pending appeal were denied in March 2026.
