Conman jailed after impersonating Riyad Mahrez and French actor Tahar Rahim

A French court has sentenced a man to 12 months in prison after he spent more than a year impersonating footballer Riyad Mahrez and actor Tahar Rahim in order to obtain favours from celebrities.

The extraordinary scheme, detailed by Libération, centred on Mohamed A., a 50-year-old former McDonald’s manager who posed alternately as the Manchester City winger and the César Award-winning actor.

By adopting their identities, he persuaded well-known figures in French entertainment to grant him access to exclusive events.

Among those deceived were singer Patrick Bruel, actress Leïla Bekhti and television host Cyril Hanouna, who unwittingly extended invitations or offered coveted tickets.

According to reports, the impostor secured VIP passes to a Beyoncé concert and even an invitation to the César Awards through his elaborate ruse.

The deception unravelled in 2023, when Hanouna alerted Rahim after receiving a message purporting to be from him, requesting an appearance on his television show.

The actor quickly realised he was not the sender, but assumed the message had come from Mahrez instead. Suspicion grew further when Rahim began to believe the footballer was attempting to contact his wife, Leïla Bekhti.

Mahrez was repeatedly forced to deny involvement, with his lawyer telling Libération: Mr. Mahrez is exhausted at this point from having to explain to everyone he’s talking to that, no, it wasn’t him who contacted them.

The court found Mohamed A. guilty of identity theft and fraud.

In addition to his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay €5,000 in compensation to Mahrez, including €2,000 in moral damages.

The case, at once bizarre and damaging, highlights the ease with which social impersonation can spiral into public confusion.

While the victims were spared serious financial loss, the reputational impact on Mahrez in particular was significant, as the player had to repeatedly distance himself from contacts he had never initiated.

For Rahim and Bekhti, the episode was equally unsettling, with their names and personal lives dragged into a hoax that blurred the lines between sport, cinema and celebrity culture.

As for Mohamed A., his year-long masquerade has ended with a custodial sentence, leaving behind a trail of embarrassment among those who briefly believed they were corresponding with two of France’s and Algeria’s most recognisable stars.

The strange tale has also prompted one lingering, if light-hearted, question: is Mohamed A. the only person who sees a resemblance between Tahar Rahim and Riyad Mahrez?