Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
The US government has asked a District Court in Central California to sentence Ramon Abbas, also known as Hushpuppi, a Nigerian Instagram celebrity, to 135 months in prison for fraud.
According to Tracknews Nigeria, it explained why it proposed 11 years and three months in prison for Mr Abbas in court filings.
Hushpuppi, an international fraudster, was arrested in June 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE) for an extensive fraudulent scheme that defrauded victims in the United States, Qatar, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
He was extradited to the United States and charged with fraud and money laundering.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering in July 2021. He admitted to conspiring with multiple individuals both inside and outside the United States to launder the proceeds of a fraudulent scheme perpetrated against individuals and businesses in various countries.
The Nation Community previously reported that the trial judge, Otis Wright, has set November 7 as the date for Hushpuppi’s sentencing.
A team of US attorneys led by Stephanie Christensen urged the court ahead of the sentencing to “sentence the defendant (Hushpuppi) to 135 months’ imprisonment.”
In response to Mr Abbas’ request for a lighter sentence, US authorities requested “a three-year term of supervised release and order of restitution of $1,732,841.34, a fine of $500,000, and the mandatory special assessment of $100.”
According to the plea agreement signed by the parties, he will also return all stolen funds to the victim.
The prosecuting lawyers disagreed with Mr Abbas’ claims of being a “life-long, hard-working, and ambitious individual” in the US government’s response to Hushpuppi’s requests for “departures and variances” from the statutory punishment for his crime.
Hushpuppi’s behavior, according to his lawyers, “is… inconsistent with” his “long history as a scammer and money launderer.”
“Defendant is an ambitious individual by all accounts, but his ambition has long been directed toward crime and its rewards.”
