A scammer dubbed the “Football Fraudster” is back in jail after illegally leaving the UK, police have said.
Former footballer Medi Abalimba, 35, posed as a Premier League player and persuaded his victims, including Thierry Henry’s ex-wife and a Love Island contestant to pay for stays in luxury hotels, helicopter trips, and travel to different parts of the world, Derbyshire Constabulary said.
Abalimba became a household name in 2023 when Netflix aired a documentary called The Footballer Fraudster.
In the documentary, actress Claire Merry, the former wife of Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, and Georgia Steel, who appeared in the 2018 edition of the ITV reality show Love Island, told how they had been duped by him.
The 35-year-old had been convicted of fraud on a number of occasions, including scamming a city taxi company of nearly £10k.
He was jailed for four years and two months in 2021, but having been released on licence, fled the UK in early 2023, breaching the conditions.
Working with forces across the world, as well as the US Homeland Security agency, police located him in the US.
He had changed his name to Michi Jordan and was travelling on a new passport, PC Sarah Baker said.
Ms Baker, who works in the force’s International Liaison Office specialising in tracking down foreign national offenders, 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.”
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Following his arrest he was extradited to the UK on 28 January where he was arrested the following day and recalled to prison – where he will remain until October 2026.
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PC Baker said Abalimba lived a life “filled with deception and even after serving prison sentences, his fraudulent activities have continued”.
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“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,” she said.
Abalimba played for a variety of league and non-league clubs in England and France, including Derby County, Oldham Athletic, and Southend United.
