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CNN
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A Nigerian social media mogul who famously flaunted his lifestyle of owning private jets and luxury cars has been sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges related to a multi-million dollar fraud scheme. American and foreign companies.
Ramon Abbas, known to his millions of Instagram followers as Ray Hushpuppi, insisted in April of last year that he thought of getting involved in making money. In addition to the prison sentence handed down Monday, United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II ordered the two fraudsters to pay $1.7 million in restitution.
It’s a serious setback for Abbas, 40, whose arrest in June 2020 during his gold rush in Dubai made international headlines. Prior to his sentencing, Abbas was incarcerated in a state prison in Los Angeles, and his social media profile has been quiet – although he has gained 500,000 new followers since his arrest.
In a handwritten letter to a judge in September – the only direct speech since his arrest – Abbas spoke about his two years in prison.
“Since I’ve been in prison, I’ve had a lot of time to think about the past, and I’m sorry that I let greed destroy the good name of my family, my blessing and my name,” he wrote.
On social media, Abbas posted videos of himself throwing money like confetti, which he claimed was a real estate developer. But federal investigators said he funded his private life through online hacking schemes of more than $24 million.
His targets included an American law firm, a foreign bank and a British professional soccer club, among others, according to a sentencing document issued by the US Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California.
“Money laundering and business transactions are a serious global problem, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement and international partners to identify and prosecute those involved, wherever they are. ,” said Martin Estrada, a U.S. attorney.
Abbas’ letter to Judge Wright describes how his colleagues reached out to him to flag businesses as fraudulent or to request bank statements to transfer funds. fraudulently obtained money.
His cybercrimes suggest that he is making a lot of money.
Federal documents show how Abbas and an accomplice “tricked” a New York law firm into making nearly $923,000 in calls intended for client refunds to a controlled bank account by them. A paralegal at the firm received fraudulent phone tips after sending an email to what appeared to be a legitimate bank email address but later identified as a “dummy” address.
In business email phishing scams, criminals impersonate an email message or website in order to get their information from a known source making a request such as a money transfer.
Abbas also confessed to a conspiracy to defraud a Qatari businessman of more than $1 million.
“The suspects allegedly financed a Qatari school by impersonating bank officials and creating a fraudulent website in a scheme that hired a foreign official to keep the story alive. after the victim was released,” said United States Atty. Tracy L. Wilkison said in an article last year.
Since his arrest, Abbas said, he has had time to reflect on his mistakes.
“Your honor, I make no excuses for my actions, I take responsibility for what I have done,” he wrote in his letter. “If I could take it back in time, I would make a different decision and be careful with the choices I make with friends.”
One of his colleagues pleaded guilty in November 2020 to one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering. He also served 11 years in federal prison and has to pay more than $30 million in restitution.
Federal investigators described Abbas as a money launderer who used his social media platform to gain fame and boast about his wealth.
A Nigerian national based in Dubai, Abbas has made no secret of his lifestyle. Before his arrest, he called himself “Billionaire Gucci Master” on Snapchat.
“I started my day with sushi at Nobu in Monte Carlo, Monaco, then decided to book a helicopter to have a … facial at the Christian Dior spa in Paris and ended my day with champagne at Gucci ,” she wrote in the caption of the photo above. Instagram in 2020.
Photos of him posing with various models of Bentley, Ferrari, Mercedes Benz and Rolls-Royce cars are hashtagged #AllMine. Others showed him rubbing elbows with international sports stars and other celebrities.
In the 2020 affidavit, federal officials discussed how his social media profiles provide information necessary to confirm his identity.
Registration and account security information related to his Instagram profile, for example, an email address and phone number. Federal agents accessed that information and linked the email and phone numbers to financial transactions and transactions with people the FBI believed to be his accomplices.
Even Abbas’ Instagram birthday photos helped make the case.
One of the posters shows a birthday cake emblazoned with the Fendi logo and a small figure of Abbas surrounded by small shopping bags. Investigators used that post to verify the date of birth he had used on a previous US visa application.
In June 2020, United Arab Emirates investigators entered Abbas’s residence at the exclusive Palazzo Versace in Dubai, arrested him and handed him over to FBI agents.
Investigators at the scene seized nearly $41 million, 13 luxury cars worth $6.8 million and phone and computer evidence including email addresses of nearly 2 million possible victims, they said. Dubai Police in a statement.
“Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings in my life. Continue to shame those who wait for me to be ashamed,” Abbas said in an Instagram picture of the Rolls-Royce just two weeks ago before his great arrest.
The account has been taken down.
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