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By Akinwande Soji-Ojo
A United States court will, on February 14, sentence Instagram celebrity, Ramon Abbas, popularly known Hushpuppi, for allegedly laundering $24 million.
Court documents unsealed in July 2021 showed that Hushpuppi could face up to 20 years in prison, and will need to “pay full restitution to the victim(s).”
According to BBC Pidgin, Hushpuppi will know his fate on Valentine’s Day, after almost two years in detention in Los Angeles, United States.
He pleaded guilty on April 20, 2021. The US Department of Justice confirmed the date in an email on Tuesday, January 25.
Hushpuppi, 37, is known for posting photos of his lavish lifestyle on Instagram, where he has 2.5 million followers.
Court documents filed in California said Hushpuppi’s crimes cost victims almost $24 million in total.
In one scheme, Hushpuppi attempted to steal more than $1.1 million from someone who wanted to fund a new children’s school in Qatar, the documents said.
The documents stated that between January 18, 2019, and June 9, 2020, Hushpuppi and others targeted multiple victims and laundered illicit funds in banks all over the world.
Hushpuppi was arrested in Dubai, where he lived, in June 2020.
In a statement, acting US Attorney, Tracy Wilkinson, said Hushpuppi and others faked the financing of the school “by playing the roles of bank officials and creating a bogus website.”
They were also alleged to have “bribed a foreign official to keep the elaborate pretence going after the victim was tipped off.”
Hushpuppi, who she said “played a significant role” in the scam “funded his luxurious lifestyle by laundering illicit proceeds generated by con artists.”
Kristi Johnson, Acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI’s) Los Angeles office, said Hushpuppi was one of the “most high-profile money launderers in the world.”
His “celebrity status and ability to make connections seeped into legitimate organisations and led to several spin-off schemes in the U.S. and abroad,” she said.
His guilty plea was “a crucial blow to this international network.”