For July 2020, di UAE later extradite Hushpuppi go Chicago for America under FBI special agents custody wia dem first carry am go court. Once a relationship is established via a false identity, romance scammers wheedle money from their online lovers. Hushpuppi, Nigerian social media influencer, funded his luxurious lifestyle by cybercrime. One UK victim, who wanted to remain anonymous, says he lost 500,000, has been forced to leave the UAE - and is himself facing criminal proceedings in Dubai because of the debt he has incurred as a result of the fraud. And now Mr Kyari too is wanted in the US on charges of fraud, money laundering and identity theft. This article contains content provided by Instagram. [18], The affidavit also accused Abbas and a co-conspirator of conspiring to launder funds intended to be stolen through fraudulent wire transfers from a 'foreign financial institution' in which fraudulent wire transfers, totalling approximately US$14.7 million, were sent to bank accounts around the world in February 2019. The United States Central District Court in California has sentenced Nigerian internet sensation, Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi to 11 years in prison. Read about our approach to external linking. [36] By implication, if what was once morally condemnable becomes a source of valuation, it becomes a source of valuation in its consequences in society. [8] He also holds a passport from St Kitts and Nevis, which was fraudulently obtained through a sham marriage to a St. Kitts and Nevis citizen. Available for over a year In 2019, he helped launder some $14.7 million stolen by North Korean hackers from a bank in Malta, funneling the money through banks in Romania and Bulgaria, prosecutors said. United Arab Emirates security agencies bin arrest Hushpuppi wey dey live for Dubai for June 2020. "There was no extradition, there were no legal steps taken, there were no court documents filed, it was simply a call to the FBI. Mr Almazar says shame prevents many more of Hushpuppi's victims coming forward. In the last 7 days. The Guardian Nigeria Newspaper brings you the latest headlines, opinions, political news, business reports and international news. Once a relationship is established via a false identity, romance scammers wheedle money from their online lovers. He pleaded guilty in 2020 to one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, prosecutors said. He refused to discuss how he was getting paid for legal fees or the source of Hushpuppi's money. But the Premiership scam fell apart when the UK banks refused to pay into the Mexican account. Hushpuppi also deny money laundering conspiracies, international money laundering and oda crime dem. One UK victim, who wanted to remain anonymous, says he lost 500,000, has been forced to leave the UAE and is himself facing criminal proceedings in Dubai because of the debt he has incurred as a result of the fraud. (2022). The BBC has used newly available court documents to uncover the man behind cyber heists that have cost his victims millions, from his humble beginnings as a Yahoo Boy hustler in Nigeria to a so-called Billionaire Gucci Master living a life of luxury in Dubai before his arrest last year. But soon, the cracks between the gang started to show. "He is a social media influencer with millions of followers, with millions of people that respect and loved him, and he loved them, and that's what he did. Abbas was one of the most prolific money launderers in the world, Don Alway, assistant director in charge of the FBIs Los Angeles office, said in the statement. None of the Premiership clubs would confirm whether or not they were the intended victim. It was to receive 100m from a Premier League Football Club, and 200m from a UK firm. This Instagram post cannot be displayed in your browser. Ramon Olorunwa Abbas - known to his 2.5 million Instagram followers as Ray Hushpuppi - and another cyber-heist suspect Olalekan Jacob Ponle (aka Mr Woodberry) were arrested in Dubai, where they lived, in June. Mr Ponle, 29, ran the "Mr Woodberry" Instagram account but the FBI says he used the alias "Mark Kain" in emails. The 37-year-old began his career in Oworonshoki, a poor coastal area in the north-east of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital. At the time, Dubai police said they recovered $40m (32m) in cash, 13 luxury cars worth $6.8m, 21 computers, 47 smartphones and the addresses of nearly two million alleged victims. Too bad they caught on, or it would have been a nice pay out.. [38][39] A short documentary about the life of Hushpuppi till his arrest has been released by both Bloomberg[40] and BBC Africa.[41]. An existing account was found for this email address. The bank did not respond to a request for comment. Feds used his posts to link him to alleged cyber crimes", "Money laundering: US court to sentence Hushpuppi on Valentine's Day", "Nigerian Influencer Ramon 'Hushpuppi' Abbas, Accused By FBI Of Money Laundering, Is Denied Bail", "Why We Arrested Hushpuppi Dubai Police", "How the FBI used Instagram and Snapchat to track down an alleged conman in Dubai", "Di big numbers behind Hushpuppi arrest and why e shake Nigeria", "Hushpuppi is into real estate, not a fraudster - Lawyer", "Nigerian Man Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Launder Tens of Millions of Dollars from Online Scams", "Instagram influencer 'Hushpuppi' arrested amid claims of 350million global cyberscam", "Hushpuppi: Formerly A Second-hand Clothes Seller In Lagos, Now A Billionaire Fraudster", "Mompha Shares Photo Of The Yellow Taxi Allegedly Being Used By Hushpuppi's Dad To Earn A Living", "INSIDE STORY: The Lagos slum where Hushpuppi bought food on credit and washed cars to survive", "Hushpuppi Blasts Phyno, Olamide & Timaya After Watching "telli Person" Musical Video", "VIDEO: "Hushpuppi Was Warned Before His Arrest" - Fans React To Timaya's Telli Person Video", "Hushpupi Arraigned in US Court for Conspiring to Defraud English Premier League Club $124m (see full charges)", "Update 3 | BOV cyber attack: 13 million transferred out with false transactions", "Hacker linked to BOV's 13 million cyber heist denied bail", "Nigerian scammer arrested by FBI could be behind 13m BOV cyberattack", "Nigerian National Brought to U.S. to Face Charges of Conspiring to Launder Hundreds of Millions of Dollars from Cybercrime Schemes", "Nigerian Instagram Star Aided North Korea Cyber Crime, U.S. Says", https://media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2020/07/usa_v_abbas_complaint_0.pdf, "Hushpuppi connected to several cyber crimes EFCC", "Five reasons Hushpuppi must remain in detention - U.S. Court", "The Fall of the Billionaire Gucci Master", "Hushpuppi: Nigerian influencer pleads guilty to money laundering", "JUST IN: Hushpuppi narrates how he bribed Nigerian top cop Abba Kyari in $1.1 million deal", "Nigeria respond afta US order for arrest of Abba Kyari wey dem indict for Hushpuppi fraud case", "FBI Releases Conversation Between Hushpuppi And Abba Kyari [See Full Text]", "Hushpuppi thanks FBI for doing great job to make world safer from "criminals like myself", "Hushpuppi scores last-minute relief as court postpones sentencing to November 2022", "Hushpuppi: Notorious Nigerian fraudster jailed for 11 years in US", https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11142, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/564560-rapper-50-cent-to-produce-hushpuppi-series.html, https://www.instagram.com/p/CkwSkKzORE-/?hl=en, https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2021-hushpuppi-gucci-influencer/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXA7rcVBslU, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hushpuppi&oldid=1149991788, Nigerian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Hushpuppi, Hush, Ray Hushpuppi, The Billionaire Gucci Blaiso, Alleged business email compromise, scam, and money laundering, This page was last edited on 15 April 2023, at 17:51. [20][21] According to the affidavit Abbas had provided a co-conspirator with two bank accounts in Europe anticipating the receipt of $5.6 million each of the fraudulently obtained funds. Yahoo Boys are romance scammers who took their name from the first free email available in Nigeria. You may want to read Metas Instagram cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. 0. In that email the scammers - posing as a supplier awaiting payment - typically say they've switched banks, so the payment will need to be wired to a different account; the details for which they will provide. Na U.S. law firm, one foreign bank and one English Premier League club be im target. One UK victim, who wanted to remain anonymous, says he lost 500,000, has been forced to leave the UAE - and is himself facing criminal proceedings in Dubai because of the debt he has incurred as a result of the fraud. Only a single letter or number will be different. Like many Yahoo Boys, Abbas broadened his criminal horizons. Latest News . Professionals were victimised. The rise and fall of Hushpuppi the social media influencer and global money-launderer. Local driver Seye told the BBC that he remembered Abbas as a young boy working alongside his mother in the Olojojo market. I hope someday I will be inspiring more young people to join me on this path, read one Instagram post by Abbas, who pleaded guilty in April 2021 to one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering. It is the latest high-profile fraud case involving a Nigerian national in the United States but his lawyer says the US had no authority to transport him from Dubai. Use at least 8 characters, an uppercase and a lowercase letter, and a number or symbol. He used to buy beer for everyone around.". An article in Bloomberg Businessweek details his actions leading to his arrest, incarceration, and a trial on 27 July 2021, in Los Angeles. [14] Social media influencer Hushpuppi sentenced to 11 years in prison over money laundering conspiracy. Antoine Verglas Opens Up About His Journey To Becoming A Fashion Photographer. He apologised to his family members for bringing them shame while commending the FBI for doing a thorough job while bringing him to justice. Ramon Abbas, 40, also was ordered by a federal judge to pay $1.7 million in restitution to two fraud victims, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. The affidavit claims that Mr Abbas conspired to launder $14.7m (11.7m) stolen in a cyber-heist from a foreign financial institution in February 2019. "Their foreign suppliers did not receive the money We're talking about thousands of euros.". According to the FBI, in 2020 BEC fraud resulted in losses of $1.8bn. He represents around 25 people - including eight UK citizens - in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), all of whom believe they are victims of one of Hushpuppi's BEC scams. The BBC has used newly available court documents to uncover the man behind cyber heists that have cost his victims millions, from his humble beginnings as a "Yahoo Boy" hustler in Nigeria to a so-called "Billionaire Gucci Master" living a life of luxury in Dubai before his arrest last year. During di detention hearing, court for di Northern District of Illinois, USA rule say make di U.S. please read our, Internet Fraud: U.S. court sets Mr Woodberrys sentencing for July 11, Hushpuppis accomplice pleads guilty to internet fraud; agrees to pay $8 million to victims, Fraud: Hushpuppis partner forfeits choice Dubai properties, to pay $8m, Hushpuppis partner Woodberry to pay $8 million after pleading guilty to fraud. BEC fraud is a huge issue across the world. For pretrial, Ramon Abass aka Hushpuppi don bin plead not guilty to di four counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. WebIn a final appeal to Judge Otis Wright ahead of his scheduled sentencing on 19 September 2022, Hushpuppi wrote a personal letter to the court narrating his source of wealth, Hushpuppi is currently being held in the United States for financial offences bordering on wire fraud to which he has pleaded guilty and faces a 20-year jail term if convicted.
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