The influencer is described by the FBI as “one of the most prolific money launderers in the world.” Ramón Abbas alias Ray Hushpuppi was sentenced on November 8 to 11 years in prison in Los Angeles for electronic fraud, money laundering of up to 300 million dollars and identity theft, says the online media Vice. According to prosecutors, this money largely came from online scams and phishing.
Ray Hushpuppi had more than 2 million followers on Instagram before he was arrested in 2020 in Dubai. He flaunted his luxurious life on the web made up of private jets, expensive cars and high-end watches.
Don Alway, deputy director in charge of the FBI office in Los Angeles, said in a statement that the Nigerian influencer “used his social networks, where he amassed a large following, to gain notoriety and boast of the immense wealth he has.” he acquired by running scams, online bank robberies and other frauds that have financially ruined dozens of victims and even provided aid to the North Korean regime.
In fact, in 2019 he helped launder $14.7 million stolen by North Korean hackers from a bank in Malta, passing the money through banks in Romania and Bulgaria, the English newspaper specifies. The Guardian.
Among his other incredible scams, he helped launder millions of pounds stolen from a British company and a professional football club, got a New York-based law firm to wire nearly $923,000, or helped defraud a person in Qatar looking for a $15 loan. Loan of millions to build a school.
His Instagram account no longer exists and he will be deported to Nigeria after serving his sentence.
Source: BFM TV
