In an strange court case, an Egyptian man has been sentenced to 1,000 years in prison after being convicted of laundering over 280 million Egyptian pounds ($52 million). Abdullah Kamel Mohamed, 42, was handed the sentence by a Giza court for scamming at least 480 people out of their money for several years, a court official said.

“He would promise people that he would invest their money for them and bring them good profits, but he would take the money and disappear,” an official close to the case said in comments carried by AFP.

“Over the years, he made 280 million pounds,” the official added.

In a nation struggling with economic progress that has yet to trickle down to the majority of the population, Mohamed used this as a means of getting people to give him their life’s savings with the promise of a better future.

He was arrested in Cairo last November after a neighbor recognized him as the man who had conned him and called the police.

It is unclear whether Mohamed will be eligible for parole.