Nigerian infamous suspected fraudster and Instagram celebrity, Ramon Olorunwa Abbas popularly known as Hushpuppi has pleaded guilty in the united states. The Instagram celebrity was arrested in Dubai, in June 2020 and was subsequently taken to the United States which looked to be the center of his perpetrated fraudulent activities. Since the time of his arrest, Mr Ramon has maintained his stance on innocence.
However, with his upcoming trial, Mr Ramon has entered into a Plea Bargain Agreement with the US government. He pleaded guilty to count two(Case No. 2:20-CR-00322-ODW) which is "Conspiracy to Engage in Money laundering" which is an offence that attracts a maximum of 20years in jail sentence.
The plea bargain agreement is between him and the United States attorney's office for the Central District of Carlifornia. It was signed by Mr Ramon himself, his lawyer, Louis Shapiro and the Assistant United States Attorney, Anil Anthony on July 4th. This plea bargain agreement looks to help Mr Ramon gain a lighter sentence during his trial in court.
Mr Ramon also alleged to have paid bribes to a Nigerian police officer, Abba Kyari. He claims that he asked Abba Kyari to arrest and Jail a fellow fraudster by the name Kelly Chibuzor Vincent after a dispute between the duo. He disclosed during interrogation that he paid bribes to Abba Kyari who is a renowned police officer of the Nigerian police force to arrest and jail his partner in crime when they were locked in a dispute over how to share the $1.1 million loot they had received from a Qatari business person who was a victim of their scamming spree. While in dispute, Mr Vincent subsequently contacted their victim and opened up about the syndicate scam on the victim involving him and Mr Ramon. This infuriated Mr Ramon and he then contacted DCP Abba Kyari to arrest and jail Vincent. Mr Ramon claimed that Kyari sent pictures of Vincent in jail and subsequently sent his account number to Mr Ramon to "wire transfer" after having done a good job as requested by Mr Ramon. After the $1.1 million fraud was successful, Mr Ramon spent $230,000 on a watch and also bribed officials at St. Kitts and Nevis for his citizenship of that island country.
About $230,000 of the stolen funds allegedly were used to purchase a Richard Mille RM11-03 watch, which was hand delivered to Mr Ramon in Dubai and subsequently appeared in Hushpuppi’s social media posts.
His guilty plea that was made earlier this month stands him a chance of spending up to 20 years in jail as he may also be required to pay restitution.
He will be sentenced in the coming weeks and will forfeit some of his assets and his rights to appeal while also paying restitution to victims of his long term fraud.
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