Hushpuppi officially charged by US Federal prosecutors

Hushpuppi has been officially charged for fraud by the US Federal prosecutors. He faces 20 years in US prison if convicted.

Known as Ray Hushpuppi, Ramon Olorunwa Abbas is officially faced with a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in a US federal prison.

He was recently extradited from Dubai to the United States. The US Department of Justice released a statement to this effect.

In it, Hushpuppi was accused of conspiring to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from business email compromise (BEC) frauds and other scams, including schemes targeting a U.S. law firm, a foreign bank and an English Premier League soccer club.

The suspected Nigerian fraudster made his first U.S. court appearance yesterday in Chicago. His transfer to Los Angeles in subsequent weeks is expected.

Filing a criminal complaint filed on June 25, Federal prosecutors alleged that Hushpuppi is “one of the leaders of a transnational network that facilitates computer intrusions, fraudulent schemes (including BEC schemes), and money laundering, targeting victims around the world in schemes designed to steal hundreds of millions of dollars”.

Also, Hushpuppi allegedly funds his extravagant lifestyle of designer clothes, wearing expensive watches,  posing in or with luxury cars and charter jets through his criminal activities.

The statement read in part,

“BEC schemes as often involving a computer hacker gaining unauthorized access to a business’ email account, blocking or redirecting communications to and/or from that email account, and then using the compromised email account or a separate fraudulent email account to communicate with personnel from a victim company and to attempt to trick them into making an unauthorized wire transfer.”

United States Attorney, Nick Hanna explained further,

“BEC schemes are one of the most difficult cybercrimes we encounter as they typically involve a coordinated group of con artists scattered around the world who have experience with computer hacking and exploiting the international financial system.

This case targets a key player in a large, transnational conspiracy who was living an opulent lifestyle in another country while allegedly providing safe havens for stolen money around the world.

As this case demonstrates, my office will continue to hold such criminals accountable, no matter where they live.

In 2019 alone, the FBI recorded $1.7 billion in losses by companies and individuals victimized through business email compromise scams, the type of scheme Mr. Abbas is charged with conducting from abroad.

Technology has essentially erased geographic boundaries leaving trans-national criminal syndicates to believe that they are beyond the reach of law enforcement.

The success in this case was the direct result of our trusted partnerships between the Department of Justice and our federal law enforcement colleagues.

These partnerships helped dismantle a sophisticated organized crime group who preyed upon unsuspecting businesses.

It is thanks to these partnerships that the American people can feel a bit more secure today.”

Hushpuppi and his suspected cohorts are accused of carrying out a BEC scheme that defrauded a client of a New York-based law firm out of approximately $922,857 in October 2019.

Among other financial crimes hung around their necks, it was alleged that they tricked one of the law firm’s paralegals into wiring money intended for the client’s real estate refinancing to a bank account that was controlled by them.

If Hushpuppi is convicted of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.