TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

A man who flaunted private jets and luxury cars on Instagram gets 11 years in prison for money laundering

A man who flaunted private jets and luxury cars on Instagram gets 11 years in prison for money laundering

A Nigerian social media influencer who flaunted a lavish lifestyle of private jets and luxury cars has been sentenced to 11 years in prison over charges related to a multimillion dollar scam that targeted companies in the United States and overseas.

Ramon Abbas, known to his millions of Instagram followers as Ray Hushpuppi, pleaded guilty in April last year to conspiracy to engage 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 once flamboyant social media account gone quiet — despite gaining 500,000 new followers since his arrest.

In a handwritten letter to the judge in September – the only direct word from him since his arrest – Abbas detailed his two years in detention.


The three page-long letter addressed the charges against Abbas, and his remorse therefor

“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, where Abbas had posted videos of himself tossing wads of cash like confetti, he referred to himself as a real estate developer. But federal investigators said he financed his extravagant lifestyle through online hacking schemes that netted more than $24 million.

His targets included a US law firm, a foreign bank and an unnamed British professional soccer club, among others, according 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,” said Martin Estrada, a United States attorney.


His letter to the judge detailed some scams


Abbas’ September letter to Judge Wright detailed how his co-conspirators reached out to him to pinpoint businesses to scam or request banking information to transfer fraudulently obtained funds.

His alleged cyber crimes involved jaw-dropping amounts of money.

Federal documents detailed how Abbas and a co-conspirator “fraudulently induced” a New York law firm to wire nearly $923,000 meant for a client’s real estate refinancing to a bank account they controlled. A paralegal at the firm received fraudulent wire instructions after sending an email to what appeared to be a legitimate bank email address but was later identified as a “spoofed” address.

In such a business email compromise scam, criminals mimic an email message or website to make their communication appear like it’s from a known source making a request such as a money transfer.

Ramon Abbas told his millions of Instagram followers that he worked in real estate.


Abbas also confessed to a conspiracy to defraud a Qatari businessman of more than $1 million.

“The defendants allegedly faked the financing of a Qatari school by playing the roles of bank officials and creating a bogus website in a scheme that also bribed a foreign official to keep the elaborate pretense going after the victim was tipped off,” acting United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison said in a statement last year.

Since his arrest, Abbas said, he’s had time to reflect on his mistakes.

“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 guilty in November 2020 to one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering. He is also serving 11 years in federal prison and has to pay more than $30 million in restitution.


His social media account was a treasure trove of information for investigators


Federal investigators have described Abbas as a prolific money launderer who leveraged his social media platform to gain notoriety and brag about his wealth.

A Nigerian national based in Dubai, Abbas made no secret of his opulent lifestyle. Before his arrest, he called 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 photo caption on Instagram in 2020.

Abbas flaunted his wealth conspicuously on Instagram.


Photos of him posing with multiple models of Bentley, Ferrari, Mercedes Benz and Rolls-Royce cars included the hashtag #AllMine. Others showed him rubbing elbows with international sports stars and other celebrities.

In a 2020 affidavit, federal officials detailed how his social media accounts provided details needed to confirm his identity.

The registration and account security information associated with his Instagram profile, for example, included an email address and phone number. Federal officials accessed that information and were able to link the email and phone number to financial transactions and transfers with people the FBI believed were his co-conspirators.

Even Abbas’ Instagram birthday party photos helped the investigation.

One such post displayed a birthday cake topped with a Fendi logo and a miniature image of Abbas surrounded by tiny shopping bags. Investigators used that post to verify the date of birth he had used on a previous US visa application.

In June 2020, United Arab Emirates investigators swooped into Abbas’ apartment at the exclusive Palazzo Versace resort in Dubai, arrested him and handed him over to FBI agents.

Investigators at the scene seized nearly $41 million, 13 luxury cars worth $6.8 million and phone and computer evidence including the email addresses of nearly 2 million possible victims, Dubai Police said in a statement.

“Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings in my life. Continue to shame those waiting for me to be shamed,” Abbas captioned an Instagram picture of a Rolls-Royce just two weeks before his dramatic arrest.

The account has since been taken down.

Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×