the influencer Ramon Abbas was sentenced in Los Angeles to 11 years in prison. He managed to organize a ‘Nigerian coup’ (as well as his nationality) that earned him millions of dollars. In particular, he allegedly laundered millions of stolen dollars by hacking emails and convincing vulnerable people to transfer money to him. The 40-year-old, better known as “Ray Hushpuppi” on social media, where he regularly poses in front of supercars, private jets and designer clothes, has been defined by the FBI as “one of the most prolific money launderers in the world”.
The Nigerian Influencer’s Online Crimes
According to prosecutors’ reconstruction, Abbas (assisted by Canadian Ghaleb Alaumary) carried out several cyber robberies of banks and compromised corporate emails. Specifically in 2019, he allegedly teamed up with hackers to launder $14.7 million stolen by North Korean hackers from a bank in Malta, funneling the money through banks in Romania and Bulgaria.
By the same methods, he would have disappeared millions of pounds stolen from a British company and a professional football team in the United Kingdom; convinced a New York law firm to transfer nearly $923,000 into a criminal account and admitted to helping defraud one of his victims in Qatar by taking out a $15 million loan to build a school.
The Conviction of Ray Hushpuppi
“Ray Hushpuppi,” who had more than 2 million Instagram followers before he was arrested in 2020 in Dubai, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and ordered to return $922,857 to the New York law firm and $922,857. 809,983 to the victim. in Qatar, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice.
Ghaleb Alaumary was charged separately and sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison. He was also ordered to pay more than $30 million in restitution to defrauded victims.
The ‘Prince of Nigeria’ coup
The “Prince of Nigeria” email scam – or Nigerian scam – is one of the most notorious cyber crimes on the web. But what is it about? The Federal Trade Commission website explains: “The people behind these messages identify themselves as agents, businessmen or prominent figures of former Nigerian governments, whose money is temporarily blocked. They offer to transfer large sums of money to the user’s account. is willing to pay the necessary fees to get your money back. If you respond to the initial offer, you will receive documents that appear to be ‘official’ and are often encouraged to visit the country in question to complete the transaction. Some scammers have even produced money fake to persuade people.”
Source: Fan Page IT
Ashley Root is an experienced business journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in economics and finance, she has a deep understanding of the inner workings of the business world and is able to provide insightful and informative analysis on a wide range of topics.
