CNN
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A Nigerian social media influencer who flaunted a lavish way of life of personal jets and luxurious vehicles has been sentenced to 11 years in jail over costs associated to a multimillion greenback rip-off that focused corporations in america and abroad.
Ramon Abbas, identified to his tens of millions of Instagram followers as Ray Hushpuppi, pleaded responsible in April final yr to conspiracy to interact in cash laundering. Along with the jail sentence handed down on Monday, United States District Choose Otis D. Wright II ordered him to pay $1.7 million in restitution to 2 fraud victims.
It’s a spectacular downfall for Abbas, 40, whose June 2020 arrest at his gilded perch in Dubai made headlines worldwide. Earlier than his sentencing, Abbas was held in federal detention in Los Angeles, his as soon as flamboyant social media account gone quiet — regardless of gaining 500,000 new followers since his arrest.
In a handwritten letter to the choose in September – the one direct phrase from him since his arrest – Abbas detailed his two years in detention.
“Since I’ve been incarcerated, I’ve had sufficient time to mirror on the previous and I remorse letting greed break the great identify of my household, my blessing and my identify,” he wrote.
On social media, the place Abbas had posted movies of himself tossing wads of money like confetti, he referred to himself as an actual property developer. However federal investigators mentioned he financed his extravagant way of life by way of on-line hacking schemes that netted greater than $24 million.
His targets included a US legislation agency, a international financial institution and an unnamed British skilled soccer membership, amongst others, in accordance with a federal sentencing memorandum from the US Lawyer’s Workplace within the Central District of California.
“Cash laundering and enterprise electronic mail compromise scams are an enormous worldwide crime downside, and we’ll proceed to work with our legislation enforcement and worldwide companions to establish and prosecute these concerned, wherever they could be,” mentioned Martin Estrada, a United States lawyer.
Abbas’ September letter to Choose Wright detailed how his co-conspirators reached out to him to pinpoint companies to rip-off or request banking data to switch fraudulently obtained funds.
His alleged cyber crimes concerned jaw-dropping quantities of cash.
Federal paperwork detailed how Abbas and a co-conspirator “fraudulently induced” a New York legislation agency to wire practically $923,000 meant for a shopper’s actual property refinancing to a checking account they managed. A paralegal on the agency acquired fraudulent wire directions after sending an electronic mail to what gave the impression to be a respectable financial institution electronic mail tackle however was later recognized as a “spoofed” tackle.
In such a enterprise electronic mail compromise rip-off, criminals mimic an electronic mail message or web site to make their communication seem prefer it’s from a identified supply making a request resembling a cash switch.
Abbas additionally confessed to a conspiracy to defraud a Qatari businessman of greater than $1 million.
“The defendants allegedly faked the financing of a Qatari college by taking part in the roles of financial institution officers and making a bogus web site in a scheme that additionally bribed a international official to maintain the frilly pretense going after the sufferer was tipped off,” performing United States Lawyer Tracy L. Wilkison mentioned in an announcement final yr.
Since his arrest, Abbas mentioned, he’s had time to mirror on his errors.
“Your honor, I make no excuse for my actions and I take full accountability for what I’ve performed,” he wrote in his letter. “If I might flip again the hand of time, I might make a wholly totally different determination and be extra cautious within the selections and mates I make.”
Certainly one of his co-conspirators pleaded responsible in November 2020 to at least one depend of conspiracy to interact in cash laundering. He’s additionally serving 11 years in federal jail and has to pay greater than $30 million in restitution.
Federal investigators have described Abbas as a prolific cash launderer who leveraged his social media platform to realize notoriety and brag about his wealth.
A Nigerian nationwide based mostly in Dubai, Abbas made no secret of his opulent way of life. Earlier than his arrest, he referred to as himself the “Billionaire Gucci Grasp” on Snapchat.
“Began out my day having sushi down at Nobu in Monte Carlo, Monaco, then determined to guide a helicopter to have … facials on the Christian Dior spa in Paris then ended my day having champagne in Gucci,” he wrote in a photograph caption on Instagram in 2020.
Pictures of him posing with a number of fashions of Bentley, Ferrari, Mercedes Benz and Rolls-Royce vehicles included the hashtag #AllMine. Others confirmed him rubbing elbows with worldwide sports activities stars and different celebrities.
In a 2020 affidavit, federal officers detailed how his social media accounts supplied particulars wanted to substantiate his identification.
The registration and account safety data related along with his Instagram profile, for instance, included an electronic mail tackle and cellphone quantity. Federal officers accessed that data and had been capable of hyperlink the e-mail and cellphone quantity to monetary transactions and transfers with folks the FBI believed had been his co-conspirators.
Even Abbas’ Instagram party images helped the investigation.
One such submit displayed a birthday cake topped with a Fendi brand and a miniature picture of Abbas surrounded by tiny procuring baggage. Investigators used that submit to confirm the date of start he had used on a earlier US visa software.
In June 2020, United Arab Emirates investigators swooped into Abbas’ condominium on the unique Palazzo Versace resort in Dubai, arrested him and handed him over to FBI brokers.
Investigators on the scene seized practically $41 million, 13 luxurious vehicles price $6.8 million and cellphone and laptop proof together with the e-mail addresses of practically 2 million doable victims, Dubai Police mentioned in an announcement.
“Thanks, Lord, for the numerous blessings in my life. Proceed to disgrace these ready for me to be shamed,” Abbas captioned an Instagram image of a Rolls-Royce simply two weeks earlier than his dramatic arrest.
The account has since been taken down.
