LOVE Island star Georgia Steel’s mystery man is a jailed fraudster who posed as Chelsea footballer to fund a false playboy lifestyle, The Sun Online reveals today.
The 21-year-old TV star looked loved up earlier this week as she was photographed kissing and holding hands with a new man in the street after her dramatic split from Sam Bird last year.
It was originally claimed her new man was a rich American, but we can reveal he is failed footballer Medi Abalimba, 26, who was caged for four years in 2014 after masquerading as former Chelsea winger Gael Kakuta to swindle people out of thousands of pounds.
When confronted, he admitted he only told the Love Island star about being in jail yesterday – after The Sun Online contacted her agent.
He said: “I told her everything. She wasn’t judgemental. I don’t want her career affected.”
He added: “We like each other, we are getting on she’s a good girl.
“It’s a beauty and the beast story. I’m considered a monster, but she doesn’t judge me.”
During his court appearance in 2014, prosectors told how Abalimba broke into lockers at a private health club to steal credit card details before splurging on designer clothes and five-star hotels.
He also splashed out on champagne in trendy London nightclubs and once duped staff into running up a £25,000 bar tab – claiming he was a “Premier League star and good for the money”.
News of her new lover’s real identity comes after Georgia couldn’t keep her eyes off him as they strolled through Bond Street at the weekend.
HEARTACHE FOR GEORGIA
She even introduced the crook to her parents at Lokkum Bar and Grill in Essex after enjoying a day out in the capital smoking sheesha.
The couple spent last night together in Georgia’s flat in South Woodford, North East London.
It is claimed they have met up most weeks when Abalimba travels to London from Derby, where he now lives.
And despite his past, Abalimba insists the couple have clicked.
He said: “I didn’t watch Love Island when she was in it because I was in prison.
“I didn’t even know who she was. We met on a night out, a friend introduced us, and got talking and we got on.”
He added: “I think we have a lot in common in terms of the perception people have of us before they have met us.
“I think it’s easy to have a perception of someone before you meet them.
“My crime is a dishonest crime so if I’m honest who is going to believe me? People have their opinions.
“I’ve apologised to Georgia. I said sorry this has caused such an issue.
“I think she wanted to understand how it all went wrong for me.
“She was shocked. Initially she was concerned for me.
“She was upset. She assumed everyone knew except her.”
FAILED FOOTBALLER
Abalimba started his career as a midfielder in the youth teams of Crystal Palace and Fulham, before moving to Southend United where he was paid £1,000-a-week aged just 16 years old.
He had trials at Manchester United and Manchester City and played for Liverpool reserves before eventually being signed by Derby County for £1.2million.
What Abalimba spent some of the stolen money on
- £25,000 bar tab on Cristal champagne in London club
- £5,000 at Manchester bar
- £11,000 on limousines
- £1,100 helicopter tour
- £800-a-night rented mansion in Berkshire
- £4,633 bill at a spa
- £2,397 to hire a Range Rover
- £2,600 on champagne at a Manchester club
- £8,000 at Gilgamesh with 20 pals
- £7,000 at the Corinthia hotel
- £3,000 at Mandarin
- £2,000 at Millennium Hotel
- £1,400 at Bulgari Hotel
Congo-born Abalimba earned up to £4,000-a-week playing for the Rams but his career bombed when he got injured and he took up a part-time job at a taxi firm.
But he tried to carry on his lavish lifestyle with the stolen credit card details – racking up a £12,000 bill at three luxury London hotels and forking out £11,000 on limousines.
PLAYBOY LIFESTYLE
One on occasion, the fraudster took four girls from Manchester on a £1,100 helicopter tour over London before having them stay with him at an £800-a-night rented mansion in Berkshire.
He would call venues in advance pretending to be Kakuta’s agent and warned them the footballer would be arriving.
The criminal then used the credit cards to rack up bar tabs worth thousands of pounds – tricking staff with snaps of him posed up with Premier League stars.
But his lies unravelled when he was caught trying to buy clothing worth more than £20,000 from Selfridge’s at the Trafford Centre near Manchester.
Cops arrested him and he admitted breaking into lockers at a sports club in Camden using master keys before taking pictures of credit card details.
The full extent of his spending was revealed – with huge bills during hotel stays, including £7,000 at the Corinthia hotel, £3,000 at Mandarin, £2,000 at Millennium Hotel and £1,400 at Bulgari Hotel.
He also used another woman’s credit cards to rack up a £4,633 bill at a spa and to hire a Range Rover.
RELATIONSHIP BEHIND BARS
Abalimba admitted 12 counts of fraud and dishonesty at Manchester Crown Court in 2014 and was caged for four years.
But even behind bars he couldn’t stay out of trouble and was caught in a sexual relationship with a cougar prison nurse after her colleagues found a red thong in his cell.
Elizabeth Hutton was jailed over the secret relationship at HMP Doncaster in 2017 after showering Abalimba with gifts – including a saucy pair of knickers and a phone which she used to send him sexy messages.
When asked by The Sun Online about his convictions, Abalimba said he only pretended to be Gael Kakuta once.
He also claimed to have been ‘psychologically in a bad place’ and was addicted to the limelight.
He said: “My addiction was trying to impress people.
“I never drank, but I was getting all the champagne to impress people.”
The fallen footballer said he now works for a concierge company doing advertising and promotions and still plays football in Derby.
He said: “I want to get on with my life. The last time I was convicted was in 2014.
“Most people who go to prison are in and out all the time.
“I’ve turned my back on all that. In prison I wrote to people I’d lied to and apologising.
“Of course I’ll apologise to Georgia. I’ll apologise to her family, her fans.
UNLUCKY IN LOVE
“But I think people should just let us get on with what we are doing.
“I made some bad decisions at a young age. I just want a second chance.”
Georgia was pictured packing on the PDA with Abalimba as they strolled hand-in-hand through the West End.
She was also spotted looking “excitable” as her new man treated her to a tulip from a street seller, with his personal driver arriving to pick them both up in a flashy red Range Rover.
Georgia’s romantic date with the fraudster came after her recent stint on Celeb’s Go Dating, which she signed up for after breaking up with Sam in October.
MOST READ IN NEWS
Sam ended the relationship after he discovered X-rated messages that she had sent to her ex-boyfriend, as well as a photo of them in bed together.
Georgia enjoyed a few dates with love interest Nathan on Celebs Go Dating and introduced him to her parents in Manchester.
But she was pictured kissing Hollyoaks’ Malique Thompson-Dwyer in early March – confirming that she had moved on from Nathan.
Georgia’s agent did not wish to comment.
