Hushpuppi fall: eccentric billionaire and Instagram influencer pleaded guilty to money laundering and could spend 20 years in prison

The luxurious life of excess and eccentricities of a famous Nigerian influencer known as @hushpuppi or billionaire Gucci Master ended after pleading guilty to the crimes of money laundering, scamming and email fraud in a court in California (US), in the latest episode of a scandal that links him to a multinational network of crooks whose loot is said to have amounted to some $ 24 million.

Ramón Olorunwa Abbas, 37, faces up to 20 years in prison for his crimes, being, according to US authorities, one of the world’s most prominent money launderers.

“Celebrity status [de Abbas] and their ability to make connections has infiltrated legitimate organizations and led to various spin-off projects in the United States and abroad. Today’s announcement represents a crucial blow to this international network and will hopefully serve as a warning to potential victims of this type of theft. “said Kristi K. Johnson, deputy director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office.

Abbas is accused of conspiring to steal more than $ 1.1 million to a businessman trying to finance the construction of a school in Qatar, according to the US Department of Justice.

Abbas’s Instagram presence had made him a celebrity and he appeared on social media with Nigerian pop idols Davido and WizKid and soccer players at English clubs like Chelsea and Man City. But since last February, “Billionaire Gucci Master” has been accused by the US Department of Justice of assisting North Korean hackers in a money laundering operation and of playing a secondary role in cyber attacks Perpetrated by three computer programmers accused of extorting $ 1.3 billion in cash and cryptocurrency.

In the Qatari school scam, Abbas, along with his co-conspirators, tampered with the school’s funding by playing the role of bank officials, created a bogus website, and bribed a foreign official to continue to rig after the victim has been informed of the irregularities.

Abbas participated in scams which resulted in a total of $ 24 million in losses for the victims, according to US authorities.

The influencer “hushpuppi” also admitted his guilt for the losses of a Maltese bank amounting to $ 14.7 million; blow up an additional $ 7.7 million to various companies, as well as nearly $ 1 million more to a law firm and another to a businessman in Qatar.

Aproximadamente 230,000 dólares de los fondos robados de la estafa de la escuela will be used for a reloj Richard Mille RM11-03, that fue entregado personalmente a Abbas en Dubai y posteriormente apareció en las publicaciones de Hushpuppi en las redes sociales, afirmaron las autoridades en United States.

Abbas made a name for himself primarily on Instagram, where he had around 2.5 million followers. According to statements by his lawyer to Forbes, when the case opened in February, “hushppupi’s fortune” was due to his vocation as an “entrepreneur”, to his investments in “real estate” and to his “brand promotion” work as an “Instagram personality”.

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