CNN
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A Nigerian social media influencer who flaunted a lavish life-style of personal jets and luxurious vehicles has been sentenced to 11 years in prison over costs associated to a multimillion greenback rip-off that focused firms in the United States and abroad.
Ramon Abbas, identified to his tens of millions of Instagram followers as Ray Hushpuppi, pleaded guilty in April last year to conspiracy to interact in money laundering. In addition to the prison sentence handed down on Monday, United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II ordered him to pay $1.7 million in restitution to two fraud victims.
It is a spectacular downfall for Abbas, 40, whose June 2020 arrest at his gilded perch in Dubai made headlines worldwide. Before 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 decide in September – the one direct phrase from him since his arrest – Abbas detailed his two years in detention.
“Since I have been incarcerated, I have had enough time to reflect on the past and I regret letting greed ruin the good name of my family, my blessing and my name,” 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. But federal investigators mentioned he financed his extravagant life-style via on-line hacking schemes that netted greater than $24 million.
His targets included a US regulation agency, a overseas financial institution and an unnamed British skilled soccer membership, amongst others, in accordance to a federal sentencing memorandum from the US Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California.
“Money laundering and business email compromise scams are a massive international crime problem, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement and international partners to identify and prosecute those involved, wherever they may be,” mentioned Martin Estrada, a United States legal professional.
Abbas’ September letter to Judge Wright detailed how his co-conspirators reached out to him to pinpoint companies to rip-off or request banking info to switch fraudulently obtained funds.
His alleged cyber crimes concerned jaw-dropping quantities of money.
Federal paperwork detailed how Abbas and a co-conspirator “fraudulently induced” a New York regulation 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 obtained fraudulent wire directions after sending an electronic mail to what appeared 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 reminiscent of a money switch.
Abbas additionally confessed to a conspiracy to defraud a Qatari businessman of greater than $1 million.
(*11*) performing United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison mentioned in an announcement final yr.
Since his arrest, Abbas mentioned, he’s had time to replicate on his errors.
“Your honor, I make no excuse for my actions and I take full responsibility for what I’ve done,” he wrote in his letter. “If I could turn back the hand of time, I would make an entirely different decision and be more careful in the choices and friends I make.”
One of his co-conspirators pleaded responsible in November 2020 to one rely of conspiracy to interact in money laundering. He is also serving 11 years in federal prison and has to pay greater than $30 million in restitution.
Federal investigators have described Abbas as a prolific money launderer who leveraged his social media platform to acquire notoriety and brag about his wealth.
A Nigerian nationwide primarily based in Dubai, Abbas made no secret of his opulent life-style. Before his arrest, he known as himself the “Billionaire Gucci Master” on Snapchat.
“Started out my day having sushi down at Nobu in Monte Carlo, Monaco, then decided to book a helicopter to have … facials at the Christian Dior spa in Paris then ended my day having champagne in Gucci,” he wrote in a photograph caption on Instagram in 2020.
Photos 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 verify his identification.
The registration and account safety info related together with his Instagram profile, for instance, included an electronic mail tackle and telephone quantity. Federal officers accessed that info and had been in a position to hyperlink the e-mail and telephone quantity to monetary transactions and transfers with folks the FBI believed had been his co-conspirators.
Even Abbas’ Instagram birthday celebration images helped the investigation.
One such submit displayed a birthday cake topped with a Fendi emblem and a miniature picture of Abbas surrounded by tiny purchasing baggage. Investigators used that submit to confirm the date of delivery he had used on a earlier US visa software.
In June 2020, United Arab Emirates investigators swooped into Abbas’ condo 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 value $6.8 million and telephone and laptop proof together with the e-mail addresses of practically 2 million doable victims, Dubai Police mentioned in an announcement.
“Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings in my life. Continue to shame those waiting 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.
