Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, has been convicted of his fraud crimes and sentenced to 11 years and three months imprisonment in the United States for money laundering.
A press release by the US Attorney’s office, Central District of California after the court sitting on Monday read partly: “A prolific international fraudster who conspired to launder tens of millions of dollars through a series of online scams and flaunted his luxurious, crime-funded lifestyle on social media was sentenced today to 135 months in federal prison.
“Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, a 40-year-old Nigerian national, also known by his Instagram handle, “Ray Hushpuppi,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II, who also ordered Abbas to pay $1,732,841 in restitution to two fraud victims.”
Abbas was arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) in June 2020 alongside 11 of his associates over allegations bordering on hacking, impersonation, scamming, banking fraud, and identity theft.
He pleaded guilty in April 2021, ten months after his arrest, to one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, and has remained in US federal custody since his expulsion from the UAE.
Before its eventual ruling yesterday, 7 November 2022, the court had postponed Abbas’s sentencing date four times. The ruling was initially scheduled on 14 February but it was postponed to 11 July. On 11 July, it was further postponed to 21 September, and then 3 November. On 3 November, it was moved to 7 November.
Reports went viral last week that he had been finally sentenced to jail but it was debunked, and it wasn’t until yesterday that he was officially sentenced.
