Sentenced to 11 years in prison, the Nigerian digital influencer Ramos Abbas, best known in internet like Ray Hushpuppi, flaunted his extravagant and luxurious lifestyle on his networks social. The criminal responded in trial for accusations directed to a multimillion-dollar fraud applied in companies around the world.
Ramon Abbas had millions of followers on his Instagram account. The Nigerian pleaded guilty in April last year to crimes of conspiracy to launder money. The result of his sentence came out this past Monday, 7. In addition to the years in prison, the man is still being required to pay $1.7 million in restitution to the two fraud victims, as ordered by U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II.
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The influencer had already made headlines in the newspapers, in June 2020, for being arrested in one of his properties in Dubai. Before his sentence was determined, the man was detained in Los Angeles, and because of this, the movement of his networks, which were always updated before, was interrupted. After the announcement of his arrest, his Instagram account still gained more than 500,000 followers.
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Ramon Abbas wrote a letter while being held in prison.
In September, the influencer wrote a letter by hand to the judge in his case, this being his only statement after being arrested. In it, the detainee tells how his days in prison have been during the last two years.
“Since being incarcerated, I have had enough time to reflect on the past and regret that I let greed ruin my family's good name, my blessing and my name,” wrote the inmate.
What were some of Abbas' schemes like?
Through online hacking schemes, Abbas financed his luxuries and ostentation, according to federal investigators. With these schemes, the criminal earned about US$ 24 million.
His biggest targets in these schemes were an international bank, an unnamed British football club and a US law firm, among many others around the world. This information was made available in his Federal Sentencing Memorandum, Central District of California, by the US Attorney's Office.
“Money laundering and business email compromise fraud is a major international crime problem, and we will continue to work with our authorities and international partners to identify and prosecute those involved, wherever they may be,” said US Attorney Martin Road.
His letter still contained revelations of other schemes
In addition to detailing some of the crimes already mentioned above, the letter has new statements about other crimes committed by the Nigerian. He claims there were plots to rob a Qatari businessman, where more than $1 million was at stake.
“Defendants allegedly falsified funding for a Qatari school by impersonating bank officials and creating a fake website in a scheme that also bribed a foreign official to maintain the elaborate pretense after the victim was notified,” she said in a statement made last year Tracy L. Wilkison, the prosecutor involved in the Abbas case.
While in prison, Ramon Abbas stated in his letter that he is having enough time to reflect on the mistakes that were made in the past.
"Your Honor, I make no excuses for my actions and take full responsibility for what I have done," he wrote. “If I could go back in time, I would make a totally different decision and be more careful in the choices and friends I make.”
One of his accomplices also confessed to being guilty of the crimes in November 2020. This partner is also serving an 11-year prison sentence for the same crimes as Abbas. The only difference between the sentences is that this man is being ordered to pay approximately $30 million in restitution.
The cyber crimes committed by them amounted to a huge sum of money.
Your account on Instagram and other networks
His social network only served to brag about his fortune and flaunt a luxurious life that he maintained with the stolen money. On his Snapchat account, Abbas was known as the “Gucci Billionaire Master” before he was arrested.
“I started my day eating sushi at Nobu in Monte Carlo, Monaco, then decided to book a helicopter to get... facials at the Christian Dior spa in Paris and ended my day drinking champagne at Gucci,” Abbas captioned a photo posted in 2020 on his Instagram.
Federal authorities confirmed that Abbas's social media accounts were instrumental in establishing his identity and providing important details about his schemes.
“Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings in my life. Keep shaming those who expect me to be shamed,” Abbas wrote in an Instagram caption two weeks before he was arrested in Dubai.
Nowadays, the criminal's account is no longer available on the networks.