Entertainment

Nigerian influencer gets 11 years in prison for money laundering

Nigerian social network influential people Ramon “Hushpuppi” Abbas was sentenced to 11 years in prison for a money laundering conspiracy that made him hundreds of millions of dollars, what prosecutors called “one of the most prolific money launderers in the world” “.

Abbas, 40, was also ordered by a federal judge to pay $1.7 million to fraud victims, according to the US Department of Justice.

Social Media Influencer ‘One of the Highest Earning Laundries in the World,’ Prosecutors Say

Prosecutors say Abbas, a Canadian, laundered money through online crimes, which included everything from bank cyberattacks to business email hacks, where crooks infiltrated accounts. company email, impersonating the account holder and tricking the victim into depositing money into his account.

His victims span several countries over a period of several years, Related press report.

In 2019, he helped launder $14.7 million in money stolen by North Korean hackers from a bank in Malta, then transferred the money through banks in Bulgaria and Romania, prosecutors claim. .

He is also said to have asked a New York-based law firm to transfer up to $923,000 to a criminal account, while also helping to launder millions of pounds stolen from a professional football club. in the United Kingdom.

In a plea agreement, Abbas admitted that he also helped defraud a victim in Qatar who sought a $15 million loan to build a school according to federal prosecutors.

“Hushpuppi” received 11 years in federal prison, ordered to pay millions of dollars in restitution to victims

During Monday’s sentencing hearing, Abbas received 135 months in federal prison and was ordered to pay $922,857 to the New York law firm and another $809,983 to the victim in Qatar.

“By his own admission, in just a period of 18 months, defendant conspired to launder more than $300 million,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. However, they noted that much of the expected damage “ultimately failed to materialize.”

Abbas was already well known online before his crimes came to light, having more than two million followers on instagram as “Ray Hushpuppi” before he was arrested in Dubai in 2020.

Finally in April 2021, he pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy.

Social media influencer with more than 2 million followers on Instagram flaunts private jet, fancy car

The influencer prides himself on living a lavish lifestyle, and shows off expensive cars, private jets, designer clothes and watches on his social media accounts.

“I hope one day I will inspire more young people to join me on this path,” Abbas read in an Instagram post before he was arrested.

According to prosecutors, Abbas’s Canadian co-conspirator, identified in court papers as Ghalib Alaumary, 37, of Ontario, has been individually charged and pleaded guilty to conspiracy related to money laundering last year. 2020.

Alaumary was sentenced to nearly 12 years in federal prison, and ordered to pay more than $30 million in restitution.





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