Love Island's Georgia Steel was scammed by footballer-turned-catfisher
Georgia Steel is looking for the real deal in the villa after opening up about being scammed by a former footballer who turned out to be a catfish and took her for thousands.
As the beauty returns to the Love Island villa in the All Stars spin off today, she is desperate to move on from what she calls one of the most traumatic periods in her life. A year after appearing on the ITV2 reality show, Georgia had begun dating a wealthy American called Miguel Johnson, who had showered her with gifts.
Only problem was that he was living a lie - and he was in fact convicted a fraudster named Medi Abalimba, who was once a footballer on the books of Liverpool Derby County and Crystal Palace. She went on to discover that he had also defrauded record label manager Simon Belofsky and two unsuspecting chauffeurs, bringing the total amount involved in his deceptions to more than £170,000.
Georgia previously spoke about her torment after discovering the terrible truth (Instagram)
She says she's desperate to find Mr Right and hopes a second stint on the show can help (ITV)That was before he took then girlfriend Claire Henry - the wife of football legend Thierry - to the cleaners, persuading her to pay for a luxurious five-star hotel stay and dentistry work, after claiming to be a US Navy Seal. The con artist, of Camden was jailed for four years and two months after admitting 15 counts of fraud between January and March 2021.
The Love Island beauty explained that the shameless swindler met her family and friends at her 21st birthday party after pulling the wool over her eyes. Their near two month romance came to an abrupt end when her manager told her the terrible news after being tipped off about what he had done.
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Georgia opened up about the "traumatic" ordeal she went through after discovering his deception. Speaking on Secure The Insecure podcast, she spoke last year for the first time since he was jailed after admitting 15 counts of fraud. He had used her card to pay for restaurants and designer clothes.
Georgia had been on the ITV2 show in 2018 alongside Dr Alex George (ITV)She told host Johnny Seifert: "I had no idea he was a convicted fraudster. Again, another mistake made, but another lesson. It was definitely a traumatic experience, but I shine a light on it now and I think, I've healed from it. I actually think it's a way of shining a light for other young men and women. You never think it's going to be you. "
She went on: "You don't have to be silly, you don't have to be naive. I can imagine a lot of people think 'oh she's so naive'. No, these people are professionals and it was wrong place, wrong time. I found out within a month or so. It was very traumatic and an experience I'll never forget, that's for sure."
We found out more when ITV produced a tell-all real crime show Cons And Swindles: The Football Fraudster. Speaking to The Sun, Georgia said he had "fooled everyone" and she explained: "He was looking for targets. I was 20 and living alone in London, as my family were in Doncaster. I didn't realise then, but I was vulnerable. I was getting lots of attention and was away from the people I trusted. He exploited that."
Now the series four is looking for love for real and ahead of the All Stars show, she said: "I feel like going in this time it’ll be nice because we have all gone through similar experiences, I think that'll create an instant connection. I’m 25, I have a house, a cat, a nice car - I have everything in life but a boyfriend, so why not give it as go."
She has been open about being conned by a partner in the past but insists it's made her more wiser in a relationship. "I take that experience as a really positive reflection now. I look at it as something I had to go through to make me stronger and learn things in life for me to be able to learn what I want in my next partner. It’s a massive benefit for me as it makes me more knowledgeable and wiser on what I need to receive from a relationship," she said.
Love Island All Stars 2024 kicks off on Monday 15 January at 9pm.
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