‘New Version Of Court Documents Are Fake’ – US Cybercrime Expert Reacts To Hushpuppi’s Alleged Fresh $400,000 Fraud Case
American cybercrime investigate journalist, Gary Warner, has revealed that the document which claimed that an alleged international internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, aka, Hushpuppi, laundered $400,000 in prison was fake.
Earlier today, a purported document which went viral on Thursday morning showed that Hushpuppi, who was currently on trial, laundered over $400,000 in prison.
A self-acclaimed journalist, Mathilde Salome Bonnet, in a publication stated that US prosecutors presented documents before the U.S. District Court of California with fresh fraud evidence against Mr Abbas.
Read Also: Hushpuppi Pleads Guilty To Money Laundering Charge, Faces Up To 20 Years In Prison
The journalist stated that the documents indicated that Mr Abbas, while awaiting his sentencing on July 11 for multimillion dollars fraud case, committed fraud and money laundering at the U.S Federal correctional facility.
Purported court documents shared by Bonnet stated that Hushpuppi, while in U.S Federal correctional facility, participated in the purchase and laundering of Economic Impact Payment (EIP) debit cards fraudulently obtained from stolen data of U.S citizens and residents.
Read Also: Hushpuppi, Woodberry And Others Allegedly Arrested By Interpol In Dubai
From the documents presented in court, it was found that hackers use data of U.S residents to file and obtain Economic Impact Payments debit cards. They sell off these EIP cards in underground marketplaces to other cyber criminals.
In the court document, US prosecutors mentioned that inmates are allowed access to phone calls, video calls, internet, and computers with limited usage but they are not monitored because inmates have right to their privacy.
Read Also: Instagram Grants International Fraudster, Hushpuppi Access To Continue Using Account
Between January 28 and March 4, 2022, security officers at the US Federal correctional
facility, observed more usage of the internet by
Hushpuppi.
Knowing that Hushpuppi was arrested
for internet related crimes, they obtained a warrant to record Hushpuppi activities.
The self-acclaimed journalist claimed that a dedicated system was setup for him and his activities were recorded for 7 days.
It was found that Hushpuppi was actively buying EIP debit cards from an underground cyber criminal marketplace called StimulusCard.
Read Also: Hushpuppi Laundered Funds For North Korean Hackers, Says US Department Of Justice
While being recorded, Hushpuppi bought a total of 58 EIP debit cards with a total value of $429,800 on the site and laundered the money through one AJ.
Reacting to the viral news, Warner, the Director of Research in Computer Forensics at the University of Alabama, noted that the shared document was an edited version of a June 2020 affidavit.
On his Twitter page, Warner disclosed that the new version of the document “was intended to get people to visit a scammer EIP website.”
He wrote;
People are asking me if it is true that #Hushpuppi laundered $400,000 in #Stimulus cards from in prison. The document they show is an edit of a June 2020 Affidavit. The new version is fake, intended to get people to visit a scammer EIP website.
People are asking me if it is true that #Hushpuppi laundered $400,000 in #Stimulus cards from in prison.
The document they show is an edit of a June 2020 Affidavit. The new version is fake, intended to get people to visit a scammer EIP website.https://t.co/4IyG0G3wm4 https://t.co/92cSWHiEpg pic.twitter.com/PrvpBddUhO
— GarWarner (@GarWarner) March 17, 2022
Hushpuppi’s trial, which was initially scheduled for Valentine’s Day, had been moved to July 11, 2022.
Hushpuppi had pleaded guilty to various offences bordering on internet scam and money laundering, among others.
It stated that Hushpuppi risks “20 years’ imprisonment; a 3-year period of supervised release; a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offence”.
