NIGERIAN Instagram celebrity, Ramon Abbas, popularly called Hushpuppi, faces a 20-year jail term for alleged money laundering, from various cybercrime schemes, to the tune of $435m (N168bn), the United States Department of Justice has said.
Abbas, who was expelled form Dubai, arrived Chicago on Thursday evening, according to a statement by the US Department.
He will be transferred to Los Angeles in the coming weeks, after his first US Court appearance in Chicago on Friday morning.
The suspect was arrested on June 10, 2020, by the Dubai Police for various alleged offences, including money laundering, fraud, hacking of websites and banking fraud.
He was arrested along with his accomplices, including Olalekan Ponle, popularly called Woodberry.
The suspects were said to have scammed over 1.9 million people in a dubious scheme worth $435m (N168bn).
Items and property recovered during the arrest, according to the Police, include: 13 luxury cars, estimated at N3.7bn; 21 laptops, 47 smartphones, and 15 storage devices, among others.
According to the US Department, a criminal complaint was filed on June 25 by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles after FBI’s investigation showed that Abbas financed his opulent lifestyle through crime and that he was one of the leaders of a transnational network that facilitated computer intrusions, fraudulent schemes and money laundering, targeting victims around the world in schemes designed to steal hundreds of millions of dollars.
US Attorney, Nick Hanna, said in 2019 alone, the FBI recorded $1.7bn in losses by companies and individuals victimised through the “type of scheme Mr Abbas is charged with conducting from abroad.”
It was also alleged that Abbas defrauded a New York-based law firm’s client of approximately $922,857 in October 2019.
Abbas was also accused of conspiring to launder funds stolen in a $14.7m cyber heist from a foreign financial institution in February, 2019, in which the stolen money was sent to bank accounts around the world.
“Abbas allegedly provided a co-conspirator with two bank accounts in Europe that Abbas anticipated each would receive €5m (about $5.6m) of the fraudulently obtained funds,” the statement said.
It added, “Abbas and others further conspired to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from other fraudulent schemes and computer intrusions, including one scheme to steal £100m (approximately $124m) from an English Premier League soccer club, the complaint alleges.
“If convicted of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, Abbas would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.”
Abbas is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Anil J. Antony and Joseph B. Woodring of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section, according to the statement.
