A US Court on Monday sentenced Nigerian Ramon Abass aka Hushpuppi to 11 years in prison for conspiring to defraud people of millions of dollars through online scams.
United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II also ordered him to pay $1,732,841 in restitution to two fraud victims.
Hushpuppi pleaded guilty in April 2021 to one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering. He was arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in June 2020 and has remained in federal custody since then.
The Nigerian was popular on Instagram where he flaunted his lavish lifestyle.
Hushpuppi, 40, also admitted in his plea agreement to conspiring with others to defraud an individual in Qatar who sought a loan of $15 million to build a school.
At Monday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Wright ordered Hushpuppi to pay $922,857 in restitution to the law firm victim and $809,983 in restitution to the businessperson in Qatar.
Hushpuppi and another conspirator duped the victim businessperson into paying approximately $330,000 to fund an “investor’s account” to facilitate the loan. The Nigerian specifically directed the victim to send $100,000 to a bank account controlled by a co-conspirator, and $230,000 to the bank account of a luxury watch seller.
Hushpuppi used those funds for his personal benefit, including purchasing a $230,000 Richard Mille RM11-03 watch, which he arranged to have brought to him from New York to Dubai.
