Hushpuppi

Ramon Olorunwa Abbas
Personal information
BornRamon Olorunwa Abbas
(1982-10-11) October 11, 1982 (age 42)
NationalityNigerian
OccupationInstagram influencer
Instagram information
Also known asHushpuppi, Hush, Ray Hushpuppi, The Billionaire Gucci Master
Years active2011–2020
Genre(s)Lifestyle, Fashion, Luxury

Updated: 2024
Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to launder money.

Criminal Penalty: 11 years in prison

Known For: Alleged business email compromise, scam, and money laundering

Ramon Olorunwa Abbas In Yoruba; Ramon Olorunwá Abbas, (born 11 October 1982), commonly known as Hushpuppi, Hush, or Ray Hushpuppi is a Dubai-based Nigerian Instagram influencer, self-acclaimed real estate mogul, and convicted felon.[1] He was sentenced in the United States to 11 years for conspiracy to launder money obtained from business email compromise frauds and other scams, including schemes that defrauded a US law firm out of approximately $40 million, illegally transferred $14.7 million from a foreign financial institution, and targeted to steal $124 million from an English Premier League club.[2]

Before his arrest by the Dubai Police in June 2020 and subsequent extradition to the United States,[3][4][5][6] Abbas was renowned for posting pictures and videos of his lavish spending on exotic cars, watches, designer clothes, bags from expensive brands like Gucci, Fendi, and Louis Vuitton and of himself boarding helicopters, with celebrities, footballers, and Nigerian politicians or while on charter jets.[7] He claimed to be a real estate developer.[8] He also holds a passport from St Kitts and Nevis, which was fraudulently obtained through a sham marriage to a St. Kitts and Nevis citizen.[9]

On the night his apartment at the Palazzo Versace was raided in an operation code-named Fox Hunt 2, Abbas was arrested alongside Young Chainz, Logic, Ziko, and Olalekan Ponle, aka (Mr Woodberry) in simultaneous raids.[10][11] Detectives seized more than 150 million dirhams (about $40 million) in cash, 13 luxury cars worth Dh 25 million ($7M), 21 laptops, 47 smartphones, 15 memory storage devices, five external hard drives, and 800,000 emails of potential victims, alongside suitcases full of cash.[12][13][14] The arrest was part of an FBI investigation that indicted him as being a "key player" in a transnational cybercrime network that provided "safe havens for stolen money around the world."[14]

  1. ^ Faith Karimi (12 July 2020). "He flaunted private jets and luxury cars on Instagram. Feds used his posts to link him to alleged cyber crimes". CNN. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  2. ^ "Money laundering: US court to sentence Hushpuppi on Valentine's Day". Punch Newspapers. 2022-01-26. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference forbes.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Why We Arrested Hushpuppi —Dubai Police". Sahara Reporters. 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  5. ^ Nwoye, Chidinma Irene (10 July 2020). "How the FBI used Instagram and Snapchat to track down an alleged conman in Dubai". Quartz Africa. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  6. ^ "Di big numbers behind Hushpuppi arrest and why e shake Nigeria". BBC News Pidgin. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  7. ^ Dawkins, David. "'Billionaire Gucci Master' Detained By FBI Over Alleged $124 Million Premier League Fraud". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  8. ^ "Hushpuppi is into real estate, not a fraudster - Lawyer". Punch Newspapers. 2020-07-09. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  9. ^ "Nigerian Man Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Launder Tens of Millions of Dollars from Online Scams". www.justice.gov. 2022-11-07. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
  10. ^ "Nigerians React As Dubai Police Release Video Of Hushpuppi's Arrest". Naija News. 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  11. ^ "Hushpuppi extradition: Who be Woodberry wey Dubai police arrest wit Ramoni Igbalode". BBC News Pidgin. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  12. ^ "How Hushpuppi, others were arrested". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  13. ^ "Instagram influencer 'Hushpuppi' arrested amid claims of £350million global cyberscam". The Independent. 2020-06-29. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  14. ^ a b Nwoye, Chidinma Irene (10 July 2020). "How the FBI used Instagram and Snapchat to track down an alleged conman in Dubai". Quartz Africa. Retrieved 2020-12-16.