Homepage. They see another young person who was once like them become that great. Premium Times (November 2022). Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Fashion; by newsdesk. Terrifyingly simple, BEC works by intercepting payments via fake emails that appear to come from an address that is almost exactly the same as the supplier's. "In my opinion, the FBI and the government here acted illegally when they kidnapped him from Dubai without any legal process to do so," Mr Pissetzky told the BBC. A fact known all too well by Dubai-based lawyer Barney Almazar. It is alleged that Mr Kyari then falsely arrested and detained the middleman for a month in a squalid Nigerian cell. Mr Ponle, the other Nigerian arrested in Dubai and currently in custody in the United States, is also preparing for trial. Hushpuppi is believed to have defrauded his victims, including a Qatari businessman and English football club, to the tune of $24 million. All rights reserved. Hushpuppi's close associate, Mompha once revealed that his dad is still a cab driver in Lagos. The 37-year-old, who was arrested by the FBI in a Los Angeles raid, has pleaded guilty to money laundering. Neither are named in the court documents. Lazarus, S., & Button, M. (2022). The United Arab Emirates has no extradition treaty with the United States but Dubai police said they had been extradited to the US. They then appeared in a Chicago court on 3 July. cookies to improve your experience and customise advertising. Feds used his posts to link him to alleged cyber crimes", "Money laundering: US court to sentence Hushpuppi on Valentine's Day", "Nigerian Influencer Ramon 'Hushpuppi' Abbas, Accused By FBI Of Money Laundering, Is Denied Bail", "Why We Arrested Hushpuppi Dubai Police", "How the FBI used Instagram and Snapchat to track down an alleged conman in Dubai", "Di big numbers behind Hushpuppi arrest and why e shake Nigeria", "Hushpuppi is into real estate, not a fraudster - Lawyer", "Nigerian Man Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Launder Tens of Millions of Dollars from Online Scams", "Instagram influencer 'Hushpuppi' arrested amid claims of 350million global cyberscam", "Hushpuppi: Formerly A Second-hand Clothes Seller In Lagos, Now A Billionaire Fraudster", "Mompha Shares Photo Of The Yellow Taxi Allegedly Being Used By Hushpuppi's Dad To Earn A Living", "INSIDE STORY: The Lagos slum where Hushpuppi bought food on credit and washed cars to survive", "Hushpuppi Blasts Phyno, Olamide & Timaya After Watching "telli Person" Musical Video", "VIDEO: "Hushpuppi Was Warned Before His Arrest" - Fans React To Timaya's Telli Person Video", "Hushpupi Arraigned in US Court for Conspiring to Defraud English Premier League Club $124m (see full charges)", "Update 3 | BOV cyber attack: 13 million transferred out with false transactions", "Hacker linked to BOV's 13 million cyber heist denied bail", "Nigerian scammer arrested by FBI could be behind 13m BOV cyberattack", "Nigerian National Brought to U.S. to Face Charges of Conspiring to Launder Hundreds of Millions of Dollars from Cybercrime Schemes", "Nigerian Instagram Star Aided North Korea Cyber Crime, U.S. Says", https://media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2020/07/usa_v_abbas_complaint_0.pdf, "Hushpuppi connected to several cyber crimes EFCC", "Five reasons Hushpuppi must remain in detention - U.S. Court", "The Fall of the Billionaire Gucci Master", "Hushpuppi: Nigerian influencer pleads guilty to money laundering", "JUST IN: Hushpuppi narrates how he bribed Nigerian top cop Abba Kyari in $1.1 million deal", "Nigeria respond afta US order for arrest of Abba Kyari wey dem indict for Hushpuppi fraud case", "FBI Releases Conversation Between Hushpuppi And Abba Kyari [See Full Text]", "Hushpuppi thanks FBI for doing great job to make world safer from "criminals like myself", "Hushpuppi scores last-minute relief as court postpones sentencing to November 2022", "Hushpuppi: Notorious Nigerian fraudster jailed for 11 years in US", https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11142, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/564560-rapper-50-cent-to-produce-hushpuppi-series.html, https://www.instagram.com/p/CkwSkKzORE-/?hl=en, https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2021-hushpuppi-gucci-influencer/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXA7rcVBslU, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hushpuppi&oldid=1149991788, Nigerian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Hushpuppi, Hush, Ray Hushpuppi, The Billionaire Gucci Blaiso, Alleged business email compromise, scam, and money laundering, This page was last edited on 15 April 2023, at 17:51. Hushpuppi, Nigerian social media influencer, funded his luxurious lifestyle by cybercrime. A request for his bail and the chance to stay with his girlfriend's uncle in Homewood, Illinois, was denied on the grounds that he presented a risk of non-appearance. Some of it was laundered via the purchase of a watch worth a staggering $230,000. "They came up with the idea of stealing identities. Tweets and reactions: revealing the geographies of cybercrime perpetrators and the North-South divide. [37] The study concludes that colonial legacies contributed to the North-South divide regarding online fraud patterns in Nigeria. Why you fit trust BBC News; How dem dey take use am; He represents around 25 people including eight UK citizens in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), all of whom believe they are victims of one of Hushpuppis BEC scams. But the Premiership scam fell apart when the UK banks refused to pay into the Mexican account. He fears that he might get apprehended at immigration immediately.". And now Mr Kyari too is wanted in the US on charges of fraud, money laundering and identity theft. "Brother I can't send from UK to Mexico," Abbas's sidekick messaged him. Labour Day, May Day: Wetin e mean and how e start. "[36] Creating these phrases is essential linguistic maneuvering, enabling a sharp comparison of the similarities between Hushpuppi, a fraudster, popularly known as an offender, and a prominent authority representative, uncritically seen as a law-abiding citizen. [36] The manifestation of linguistic maneuvering, "advantageous comparison" as a preferred technique of choice by Twitter users, exposes their total trivialization of online fraudsters' economic actions, e.g., Huspuppi. He texted his contact Nigerian police officer Abba Kyari saying: I want him to go through serious beating of his life. The scams were to be carried out via Business Email Compromise (BEC). [35] A recent study demonstrates that many people on Twitter trivialize the fraudulent actions of online fraudsters such as Hushpuppi. Ramon Abbas known to his 2.5 million Instagram followers as Hushpuppi is considered by the FBI to be one of the worlds most high-profile fraudsters and faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years in the US after pleading guilty to money laundering. Detectives seized more than 150 million dirham (about $40 million) in cash, 13 luxury cars worth Dh 25 million ($7M), 21 laptops, 47 smartphones, 15 memory storage devices, five external hard drives and 800,000 emails of potential victims alongside suitcases full of cash. [1] He was sentenced in the United States to 11 years for conspiracy to launder money obtained from business email compromise frauds and other scams, including schemes that defrauded a US law firm of about $40 million, illegally transferred $14.7 million from a foreign financial institution, and targeted to steal $124 million from an English Premier League club. [16] Many viewed the song as a prophetic warning that was fulfilled with his arrest. WebIn a final appeal to Judge Otis Wright ahead of his scheduled sentencing on 19 September 2022, Hushpuppi wrote a personal letter to the court narrating his source of wealth, The United Arab Emirates has no extradition treaty with the United States but Dubai police said they had been extradited to the US. Abigail Mamo, chief executive of the Maltese chamber of small and medium enterprises, says the heist plunged the holiday island into "chaos". A fact known all too well by Dubai-based lawyer Barney Almazar. Mr Almazar says shame prevents many more of Hushpuppi's victims coming forward. One UK victim, who wanted to remain anonymous, says he lost 500,000, has been forced to leave the UAE - and is himself facing criminal proceedings in Dubai because of the debt he has incurred as a result of the fraud. Local driver Seye told the BBC that he remembered Abbas as a young boy working alongside his mother in the Olojojo market. But if you look at the bank accounts that police have traced, they all belong to the records obtained by the police in their raids [on Hushpuppis home in Dubai].. "We cannot say with 100% certainty that Hushpuppi is behind it," Mr Almazar says. We received calls from our members telling us they were sending money using Bank of Vallettas platform to their foreign suppliers, says Ms Mamo. The rise and fall of Hushpuppi the social media influencer and global money-launderer. The scams were to be carried out via Business Email Compromise (BEC). The bank said it managed to recover 10m euros. Please click 'Sign in and Subscribe' to continue. please read our, Internet Fraud: U.S. court sets Mr Woodberrys sentencing for July 11, Hushpuppis accomplice pleads guilty to internet fraud; agrees to pay $8 million to victims, Fraud: Hushpuppis partner forfeits choice Dubai properties, to pay $8m, Hushpuppis partner Woodberry to pay $8 million after pleading guilty to fraud. 3.The truly fascinating story of Doris Payne, aka "Diamond Doris," a 91-year-old jewel thief who used 22 aliases while stealing millions of dollars worth of jewelry from around the world and was arrested more than 20 times in countries like Greece, France, England, and Switzerland over the course of six decades. "I want to spend money to send this boy to jail, let him go for a very long time.". Some are hesitant to admit what has happened.". Despite himpleading guilty in April to money laundering, Hushpuppis social media is still live and attracting followers. [17], Upon his arrival in the United States on 3 July 2020, he was accused of conspiring to launder 'hundreds of millions of dollars'. The purported messages allege that Hushpuppi paid 8m naira ($19,000; 14,000) into accounts linked to the Nigerian police whose details were provided by Mr Kyari, to detain Mr Chibuzor. Abigail Mamo, chief executive of the Maltese chamber of small and medium enterprises, says the heist plunged the holiday island into "chaos". In that email the scammers - posing as a supplier awaiting payment - typically say they've switched banks, so the payment will need to be wired to a different account; the details for which they will provide. To view this content choose accept and continue. Hushpuppi was American social networking service, Instagram has deactivated the verified account of the embattled internet fraudster, Abbas Ramon, popularly known as Hushpuppi, Naija News reports. Ramon Olorunwa Abbas (born 11 October 1982), commonly known as Hushpuppi, Hush, or Ray Hushpuppi is a Nigerian former Instagram influencer and convicted felon. Jon Shilland, fraud lead with the UK's National Crime Agency, says it can be difficult tracking down criminal networks based in multiple jurisdictions. The Judge had initially rejected the plea of the defendant's motion for a delay of judgement. WebFirst broadcast: Thu 16 th Sep 2021, 02:32 on BBC World Service Australasia Latest broadcast: Thu 16 th Sep 2021, 20:06 on BBC World Service East Asia. Instagram Influencer, Nigerian Scammer Indicted for Stealing Over $1.1 Million Cardinal News News Ticker Male, Age 30, Accused of Stabbing, Killing His Mother in House They Shared in South Elgin CRIME BLOG C Too bad they caught on, or it would have been a nice pay out.. I hope someday I will be inspiring more young people to join me on this path, read one Instagram post by Abbas, who pleaded guilty in April 2021 to one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering. Read about our approach to external linking. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? TittlePress Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 25(8), 504-511. VideoOn board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, I didnt think make-up was made for black girls, Why there is serious money in kitchen fumes. One Million Dollars Per Constituency: Middle Belt Dev't Authority commissions three projects. "[27], On 28 July 2021, Hushpuppi pleaded guilty to money laundering[28] and also identified a Deputy Commissioner of Police in Nigeria, Abba Kyari, as an accomplice in his $1.1 million scam deal. "We cannot say with 100% certainty that Hushpuppi is behind it," Mr Almazar says. [33] On 8 November 2022, Hushpuppi was sentenced to over 11 years (135 months) in a federal prison. Lazarus, S., Button, M., & Adogame, A. He assumed the identity of a New York banker to entrap his victim, a Qatari businessperson seeking a $15m loan to build a new school in the Gulf state. Many went to Malaysia - and Abbas followed them, ending up in Kuala Lumpur around 2014, then Dubai in 2017. Brother I cant send from UK to Mexico, Abbass sidekick messaged him. File on 4's Hush Money: The Rise and Fall of an International Fraudster is available on BBC Sounds. "They keep finding out.". NDLEA said Abba Kyari, who was suspended for his relationship with fraudster Abass Olorunwa, better known as Hushpuppi, is a member of an international drug cartel "With the intelligence at our disposal, the Agency Professionals were victimised. [36] By implication, if what was once morally condemnable becomes a source of valuation, it becomes a source of valuation in its consequences in society. In today's society, that's a business," he said. It stated that Hushpuppi risks 20 years imprisonment; a 3-year period of supervised release; a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offence. By clicking "OK" or continuing to use this site, you agree that we may collect and use your personal data and set Nigerian social media influencer, Ramon Olorunwa Abbas popularly known as Ray Hushpuppi, was charged and indicted in a $1.1 million fraud by the United States Local driver Seye told the BBC that he remembered Abbas as a young boy working alongside his mother in the Olojojo market. [37] Specifically, the study showed that the criminalization of people indigenous to southern Nigeria, such as Hushpuppi, differs substantially from that of Northerners, suggesting that more Southerners are more implicated in internet fraud than Northerners. None of the Premiership clubs would confirm whether or not they were the intended victim. Is climate change killing Australian wine? As he grew older, Seye says, Abbas liked to splash his cash: He was generous. Between December 2019 and February 2020, Abbas and a gang of alleged middlemen in Kenya, Nigeria and the US groomed and conned the victim out of more than a million dollars. He is a celebrity. "They keep finding out.". The affidavit claims that Mr Abbas conspired to launder $14.7m (11.7m) stolen in a cyber-heist from a foreign financial institution in February 2019. His clients understand that he was victimised, Mr Almazar explains. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [15], He is the subject of a 2017 song "Telli Person" by Nigerian singer Timaya featuring Olamide and Phyno, with whom he had a long-running feud. Experts don bin tell BBC Pidgin say if court find Hushpuppi guilty of di accuse, e fit face maximum prison sentence of nothing less than 20 years for federal prison. Na U.S. law firm, one foreign bank and one English Premier League club be im target. "They came up with the idea of stealing identities. But everyone knew the source of his mysterious wealth - cybercrime; he was a "Yahoo", Seye says. Sorry, no headlines or news topics were found. "Brother I can't send from UK to Mexico," Abbas's sidekick messaged him. Neither are named in the court documents. Just days after we put the same question to Snapchat, which deleted Hushpuppi's account. [22] U.S. authorities also accused him of aiding North Korean hackers in money laundering.[23]. "If Dubai wanted to expel him, they should have expelled him back to Nigeria. He has previously denied having any criminal involvement with Abbas and has not responded to the BBCs requests for comment. [8] He also holds a passport from St Kitts and Nevis, which was fraudulently obtained through a sham marriage to a St. Kitts and Nevis citizen. This is when his Instagram posts - and crimes - went to another level. Hushpuppi's former home, 9 Ogunyomi Street, in the Oworonshoki area of Lagos, Hushpuppi's Instagram posts about his luxurious lifestyle attracted hundreds of thousands of likes, Investigators say it is difficult to track down scammers when those in a network are based all over the world. Click here to sign-in and subscribe via a link sent to your email. Please ensure your password has at least 8 characters, an uppercase and a lowercase letter, and a number or symbol. He has previously denied having any criminal involvement with Abbas - and has not responded to the BBC's requests for comment. As he grew older, Seye says, Abbas liked to splash his cash: "He was generous. Latest News . Only a single letter or number will be different. The bank said it managed to recover 10m euros. Hushpuppi, Nigerian social media influencer, funded his luxurious lifestyle by cybercrime. It did not name the institution by name but a bank in Malta reported losing the same sum to hackers that same month. According to court documents in California, he has cost victims 17m in total. Copyright 1997 - 2023 NewsNow Publishing Limited. Abba Kyari, who has a reputation in Nigeria as a "super cop", has been suspended and is wanted in the US, I have seen parents who have taken their children to learn how to become Yahoo Boys", On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. It was to receive 100m from a Premier League Football Club, and 200m from a UK firm. Abbas is also accused of committing fraud in Nigeria as he is also wanted by Nigeria's financial crime police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.[25]. Wia dis foto come from, Twitter/@USAO_LosAngeles. Shopping trolleys filled with goods were abandoned at checkouts as payment systems shut down. The Latest. Terrifyingly simple, BEC works by intercepting payments via fake emails that appear to come from an address that is almost exactly the same as the supplier's. One UK victim, who wanted to remain anonymous, says he lost 500,000, has been forced to leave the UAE and is himself facing criminal proceedings in Dubai because of the debt he has incurred as a result of the fraud. "Yahoo Boys" are romance scammers who took their name from the first free email available in Nigeria. LOS ANGELES A Nigerian social media influencer who called himself Ray Hushpuppi and flaunted a lavish lifestyle fueled by his efforts to launder millions of stolen dollars was sentenced Monday in Los Angeles to more than 11 years in federal prison. And then with that identity theft, they went into dating [scams]," explains Dr Adedeji Oyenuga, a cybercrime expert at Lagos State University. By Helen Clifton & Princess Abumere. "The Fall of the Billionaire Gucci Master," retrieved from: BBC News (2021).Hushpuppi: the Instagram influencer and international fraudster, retrieved from: "He flaunted private jets and luxury cars on Instagram. Neither are named in the court documents. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? In a statement about Mr Abbas' initial court appearance, the DoJ said "FBI special agents earlier this week obtained custody of Abbas and brought him to the United States" without giving any further details. "We don check wit di FBI agent wey supposedly author di document, and im confam say na fake.". An individual may contact you via e-mail, explaining he needs help to transfer money, Will tell you that political turmoil or a natural disaster makes it difficult for him to make the transfer, Will ask you to give him your financial details so that he can transfer the money into your account, This allows him to access and steal from your account, Be careful what you post on social media and dating sites as scammers use the details to better understand you and target you. [9], On the night his apartment at the Palazzo Versace was raided in an operation code-named Fox Hunt 2, Abbas was arrested alongside eleven others in six simultaneous raids. grassroots elite basketball ; why does ted lasso have a southern accent . ; Some are hesitant to admit what has happened.. The United States Central District Court in California has sentenced Nigerian internet sensation, Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi to 11 years in prison. During di detention hearing, court for di Northern District of Illinois, USA rule say make di U.S. Multiple sources in Malta including Times of Malta and Malta Today also repeated Forbes's claims that Hushpuppi could have been behind the attack. He would not want to ruin his credibility and status rather than stay here and face these allegations.
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