A BAD INFLUENCE

Insta Celeb ‘Hushpuppi’ Gets 11 Years in Prison for ‘Prolific’ Money Laundering Scheme

Nigerian influencer “Ray Hushpuppi” conspired to launder more than $300 million over 18 months, prosecutors said.

Nigerian influencer “Ray Hushpuppi” was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison Monday for laundering more than $300 million of stolen money over just 18 months. Hushpuppi, who’s real name is Ramon Abbas, was also ordered by an L.A. judge to pay $1.7 million in restitution to two fraud victims, according to the Department of Justice. Prosecutors said Hushpuppi, who flaunted his lavish lifestyle on Instagram, worked with Canadian man Ghaleb Alaumary to launder money through bank cyberheists and online scams, hacking into business’ email accounts and tricking people into wiring money to them. Hushpuppi was “one of the most prolific money launderers in the world,” Don Alway, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said. He helped launder almost $15 million stolen by North Korean hackers from a bank in Malta in 2019, as well as millions of pounds from British soccer teams. He was told to pay $922,857 in restitution to a New York law firm he duped, and $809,983 to a victim in Qatar who had sought a $15 million loan to build a school. Alaumary was sentenced to almost 12 years.