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An Instagram influencer has been jailed for more than 11 years for an international fraud scheme that targeted a Premier League club out of millions of dollars.
Ramon Abbas, that’s who known to his followers as Ray Hushpuppia California judge sentenced him to 135 months in prison and ordered him to pay more than $1.7m (£1.5m) in restitution to two fraud victims.
The Nigerian national was extradited to the United States to stand trial more than two years ago after he was widely arrested by Dubai police in a raid on his home dubbed Operation Fox Hunt 2.
Abbas pleaded guilty to one count of alleged involvement in money laundering in April 2021, and has targeted American and international victims of online fraud.
The 40-year-old Internet celebrity is “one of the world’s greatest money-grubbers,” said Don Alway, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles office.
He used his “huge following” of nearly 2.8 million on Instagram to “brag about how much money he made by running a business email scam, an online bank account , and other online scams”.
Some of the victims were left “financially broke” and his work helped the North Korean government, according to Mr Alway.
Premier League club
Abbas tried to steal £100m from an unidentified Premier League club in May 2019, prosecutors said.
He worked with Canadian financier Ghaleb Alaumary, 37, during the operation, which also targeted another British company.
On the occasion, Abbas gave his colleague information about the bank account in Mexico “that can handle millions without any restrictions”.
Dubai Police released images of the arrests
Northern jurisdiction
In January 2019, Abbas and Alaumary planned to launder money stolen from a bank in Malta by providing account information for other banks in Romania and Bulgaria.
The Malta cyber-heist is said to have seen a head of money for Pyongyang, and the US has also released three North Korean hackers for the crime.
Abbas admitted that the loss is estimated at $14.7m (£12.8m), which may be part of the total £1.2bn (£1bn) the attackers are accused of robbing banks in several countries.
Work On Dog
Other charges include Abbas tricking a New York law firm into transferring more than $922,000 (£804,000) to a co-defendant’s account under another’s name, and attempting to defraud a man in Qatar needs a $15m loan to build a school.
Among the luxury items Abbas spent his money on was a $230,000 (£200,000) Richard Mille RM11-03 watch, which he regularly shows off on his Instagram account.
His death was the result of an FBI investigation known as Operation Top Dog.
US Attorney Martin Estrada said: “Abbas bragged on social media about his lavish lifestyle – a lifestyle paid for by his involvement in national fraud and targeted money laundering. to victims around the world.
“Money laundering and business email fraud is a serious global problem, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement authorities and international partners to identify and prosecute those who place, wherever.”
Alaumary has been jailed for 140 months and ordered to pay more than $30m (£26.2m) after he admitted conspiracy to engage in money laundering in November 2020 .
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