A major international money launderer known for flaunting his ill-gotten wealth on social media received a 135-month federal prison sentence Monday, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.
Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, a 40-year-old Nigerian citizen, originally pled guilty to a single count of conspiring to engage in money laundering to the tune of tens of millions of dollars in April 2021, according to the DOJ.
Also known as “Ray Hushpuppi,” “Hush,” or the “Billionaire Gucci Master,” Abbas maintained numerous aliases across multiple social media platforms, according to Bloomberg. His Instagram account with the handle “@Hushpuppi” had over 2 million followers.
Abbas utilized social media to display his opulent lifestyle, one that included private jet flights, luxury cars such as Ferraris and Rolls-Royces, and a penthouse apartment at the exclusive Palazzo Versace in Dubai, where he was based, Bloomberg reported.
He also bought a “$230,000 Richard Mille RM11-03 watch, which he arranged to have brought to him from New York to Dubai” with funds stolen from one of his victims, according to the DOJ.
Abbas’ substantial social media following along with his copious consumption caught the attention of luxury brands. Abbas posted about custom nameplates from Rolls Royce and his experience as a VIP guest of Louis Vuitton, according to Bloomberg.
BREAKING: Finally, US court sentences Hushpuppi to 11 years, three months https://t.co/4tlGANGTKe pic.twitter.com/fOPeAvyczN
— The Nation Nigeria (@TheNationNews) November 8, 2022
Abbas acquired his wealth “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,” said Don Alway, the assistant director in charge of the FBI field office in Los Angeles, according to the DOJ.
Working with co-conspirator Ghaleb Alaumary in 2019, Abbas attempted to launder stolen funds from a suspected North Korean cyber attack in Malta via Romanian and Bulgarian banks, according to the DOJ. Abbas also defrauded a New York law firm to the tune of $922,857 and stole around $330,000 from a Qatari businessperson.
Abbas was arrested in June 2020 and expelled from the United Arab Emirates to the United States, where he remained in federal custody, the DOJ wrote in the release. His Instagram account has been deactivated. (RELATED: Washington State Reportedly Lost ‘Hundreds Of Millions’ To Nigerian Unemployment Fraud Scheme)
United States Attorney Martin Estrada said that “money laundering and business email compromise scams are a massive international crime problem” before highlighting a desire to “identify and prosecute those involved, wherever they may be,” according to the DOJ.
Fraud continues to be a major source of financial loss. A rancher responsible for a $244 million “ghost cattle” scheme received an 11-year prison sentence in October while a Department of Labor report in September revealed an estimated total loss of over $45 billion to fraudulent unemployment claims since March 2020.