Finally, US court jails Hushpuppi

Fraudster and social media influencer Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, has been jailed for his role in an international fraud syndicate.

Abass flaunted his wealthy lifestyle on his Instagram page which had 2.8 million followers until it was disabled.

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He was arrested in Dubai and flown to the US where the judge of a court in Los Angeles convicted and also ordered him to pay $1,732,841 (£1,516,182) in restitution to two fraud victims.

Abbas will serve his sentence of 135 months in a federal prison.

Abbas pleaded guilty in April 2021 to one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering. He admitted to attempting to steal more than $1.1m from someone who wanted to fund a new children’s school in Qatar, court documents in California say.

He also admitted to “several other cyber and business email compromise schemes that cumulatively caused more than $24 million in losses”, the US justice department said.

“Ramon Abbas… targeted both American and international victims, becoming one of the most prolific money launderers in the world,” said Don Alway, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, in a court document on Monday.

“Abbas leveraged his social media platforms… to gain notoriety and to brag about the immense wealth he acquired by conducting business email compromise scams, online bank heists and other cyber-enabled fraud that financially ruined scores of victims and provided assistance to the North Korean regime.

“This significant sentence is the result of years’ worth of collaboration among law enforcement in multiple countries and should send a clear warning to international fraudsters that the FBI will seek justice for victims, regardless of whether criminals operate within or outside United States borders.”

Abbas apologised for his crimes to Judge Otis D Wright in a handwritten note, saying he would use his personal funds to pay back his victims. He also said he had only made $300,000 from the crime he was being tried for.

His luxurious lifestyle came to an abrupt end in 2020, when he was arrested while living in Dubai.