Suspected international fraudster, Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Ray Hushpuppi, has reportedly pleaded guilty to money laundering, business email compromise scams and other online heists.
According to American Journalist, Evan Ratliff, the Nigerian self-proclaimed “Billionaire Gucci Master” pled guilty to the charges leveled against him and he will likely face up to 20 years in prison.
He stated;
UPDATE: Ramon Abbas aka Ray Hushpuppi agreed today to plead guilty in federal court to conspiracy to engage in money laundering, of funds from business email compromise scams and other online heists. He’ll face up to 20 years in prison at sentencing.
UPDATE: Ramon Abbas aka Ray Hushpuppi agreed today to plead guilty in federal court to conspiracy to engage in money laundering, of funds from business email compromise scams and other online heists. He’ll face up to 20 years in prison at sentencing. https://t.co/PCg6evhusb
— Evan Ratliff (@ev_rat) July 28, 2021
He added;
In his plea agreement, Abbas admitted to laundering money from the Malta Bank heist and the BEC attacks on a Premier League club, another UK firm, and an American law firm, as well as additional schemes.
In his plea agreement, Abbas admitted to laundering money from the Malta Bank heist and the BEC attacks on a Premier League club, another UK firm, and an American law firm, as well as additional schemes.
— Evan Ratliff (@ev_rat) July 28, 2021
He revealed that Abbas’s plea agreement, which involved crimes allegedly perpetrated by North Korean state sponsored hackers, was heavily redacted, and many of the filings in the case remain sealed.
Abbas’s plea agreement, which involved crimes allegedly perpetrated by North Korean state sponsored hackers, was heavily redacted, and many of the filings in the case remain sealed.
— Evan Ratliff (@ev_rat) July 28, 2021
Background
In June 2020, Hushpuppi, a popular socialite in Nigeria, was arrested in United Arab Emirates alongside his friend, Olalekan Ponle popularly known as Woodberry and others over money laundering and wire fraud allegations.
The 38-year-old known for flaunting his opulent lifestyle on social media, was arrested in Dubai by special agents including Emirate police officers and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) operatives.
A short film detailing how Dubai police tailed and arrested a gang of online fraudsters including the socialites was released.
According to the narrator in the four-minute film released on June 25, the operation which led to the arrest of 12 fraudsters was for about four months.
Six raids were carried out simultaneously while some of them were asleep in their Dubai apartments.
Dubai police was able to track down Hushpuppi and his gang after months of investigating and monitoring their social media activities.
The film narrator stated that fake pages for existing websites were created by the gang to redirect any payments to their bank accounts.
Read Also: Hushpuppi And Woodberry Extradited To US
They also allegedly hacked corporate emails and sent fake messages to victims, redirecting financial transfer and important documents.
Hushpuppi and his fellow fraudsters have defrauded almost 2 million victims globally of N168 billion, seizing more N50 billion in cash and 13 luxury cars worth N3.7 billion.
Read Also: Hushpuppi Laundered Funds For North Korean Hackers, Says US Department Of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in an affidavit stated that Abbas conspired to launder funds stolen in a $14.7 million cyber-heistfrom a foreign financial institution in February 2019, in which the stolen money was sent to bank accounts around the world.
He also provided a co-conspirator with two bank accounts in Europe that he anticipated each would receive €5 million (about $5.6 million) of the fraudulently obtained funds.
Abbas and others further conspired to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from other fraudulent schemes and computer intrusions, including one scheme to steal £100 million (approximately $124 million) from an English Premier League soccer club.
Since his arrest, the suspected international fraudster has since been in detention whilst being tried at a court in California, United States.
