A few days after he was extradited to the United States from Dubai, Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, a.k.a Hushpuppi, made his first court appearance where he was charged with accusations ranging from money laundering to participating in business email compromise (BEC) schemes targeting a US law firm, an English Premier League side, and a foreign bank.
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In a report released by the U.S Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, Hushpuppi is accused of conspiring “to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from other fraudulent schemes and computer intrusions, including one scheme to steal £100 million (approximately $124 million) from an English Premier League soccer club.”
As written in the affidavit report, “The FBI’s investigation has revealed that Abbas finances this opulent lifestyle through crime, and that he is one of the leaders of a transnational network that facilitates computer intrusions, fraudulent schemes (including BEC schemes), and money laundering, targeting victims around the world in schemes designed to steal hundreds of millions of dollars.”
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Jesse Baker, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Los Angles Field Office, described the hunt for Hushpuppi as “a challenging case, one that spanned international boundaries, traditional financial systems and the digital sphere,” and its success depended on partnerships between the Department of Justice and other federal law enforcement agents.
Hushpuppi is accused of stealing $922,857 in October last year from a client of a New York-based law firm through another BEC scheme.
“Abbas and co-conspirators allegedly tricked one of the law firm’s paralegals into wiring money intended for the client’s real estate refinancing to a bank account that was controlled by Abbas and the co-conspirators,” the report stated.
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He is also accused of conspiracy to launder funds stolen in a $14.7 Million cyber-heist from a foreign financial services firm in February 2019. Hushpuppi allegedly provided the co-conspirators with 2 bank accounts in Europe, anticipating to receive €5 million each.
If he is found guilty of money laundering and other related crimes, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in a federal prison.
Reading through the charges USA is preferring against Huspuppi there are present tense and not in past tense. Which means that he is proposing to commit them and not that he committed. For instant, one of the charges is that he is conspiring to form a scheme to defraud an English league club.
The whole allegations against him is an assumption and suspecison and not unconnected with the way he flaunted his wealth on social media. Justice demands that one can only be convicted of actual offence committed not on assumption and suspecison. I hold no brief for Huspuppi neither do support any fraudulent activities but I am advocate of good justice and equity.
The whole activities and the charges are about to occur and not that it had occurred. The USA is looking for overseas partners to acquisce to find means of convicting this man.