Hushpuppi sentenced to 11 years in prison

Ramon Abbas, alias Hushpuppi, has been slapped with an 11-year prison sentence for fraud and money laundering.

The judgement was given by the United States Central District Court in California.

In June 2020, Hushpuppi was arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he lived, over an elaborate fraud scheme that had victims across the world including the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Qatar.

From Dubai, the Nigerian social media star was taken to the United States and charged with fraud and money laundering, multiple counts of hacking, impersonation, scamming, banking fraud and identity theft.

In response, he pleaded guilty to defrauding several people and establishments.

Sometimes called Ray Hushpuppi, he informed Judge Otis Wright about the source of his wealth, criminal exploits, registered his regrets in a final appeal effort ahead of his scheduled sentencing on September 19, which was subsequently postponed to November.

He also requested not to be returned to Nigeria.

He expressed his commendation for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) yeoman’s job in bringing him to book and also apologised to his family for the shame he has brought upon them.

It is reported while in prison, the socialite cooperated with the police concerning investigation into his crimes and also scored high marks for cleaning activities.

Given that Hushpuppi has already spent two years behind bars in the US, he will spend an additional nine years in prison.

He spent the last two years at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in Chicago, Illinois, but it is not clear where he would be sent to following his sentencing.

Meanwhile, Instagram has deactivated Hushpappi’s account. It had 2.8 million followers at the height of his popularity.

According to Meta spokesperson, the account was deactivated because it breached community rules and was used in “fraudulent activity that can harm people or businesses.”