Hushpuppi, a well-known Instagram personality, was finally given an 11-year and 3-month jail term for fraud by a United States District Court for the Central District of California.
On Monday, November 7, United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II sentenced the 40-year-old and mandated that Abbas pay $1,732,841 in compensation to two fraud victims.
According to the judge, Hushpuppi planned to use online fraud to launder millions of dollars while boasting about his lavish, crime-funded lifestyle on social media.
Ten months after his June 2020 arrest in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), he entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to participate in money laundering in April 2021.
Since being expelled out of the UAE, Hushpuppi has remained in US federal custody.
According to a statement issued by the US court:
“Abbas bragged on social media about his lavish lifestyle – a lifestyle funded by his involvement in transnational fraud and money laundering conspiracies targeting victims around the world,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada.
“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.”
“Ramon Abbas, a.k.a. ‘Hushpuppi,’ 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.
“Abbas leveraged his social media platforms – where he amassed a considerable following – 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.
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