Hushpuppi, alias Ramon Abbas, a Nigerian Instagram celebrity, is aware of what he will not be doing for the next eleven years: draping himself in Gucci. For his role in an international deception ring, the “Billionaire Gucci Master” has been imprisoned for over eleven years. The forty-year-old conspired to launder more than $300 million, demonstrating that he would do anything to live a hedonistic lifestyle and would not give up his fraudulent methods. Over the course of 18 months, Abbas laundered money by hacking email accounts and convincing victims to transmit money. The infractions earned Hushpuppi $300,000 and a prison sentence of more than a decade. The individual had 2.4 million Instagram followers and led an enviable life of luxury, albeit one marred by crime.
Nothing lasts indefinitely, and Abbas’ glory days are no exception. Together with a Canadian citizen, he was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to money laundering. According to Fortune, a Los Angeles judge ordered Abbas to pay over $1.7 million in restitution to two victims. Don Alway, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, stated in a court document that Abbas utilized his social media platforms “to gain notoriety and to brag about the immense wealth he amassed.” “This significant sentence is the result of years of cooperation between law enforcement agencies in multiple countries and should serve as a warning to international fraudsters that the FBI will seek justice for victims regardless of where the criminals operate,” Alway said.
His crimes span decades. In June of 2020, the FBI raided the apartment of Raymond Abbas, 38, over allegations of a $432 million cyberscam. They stole $37 million in cash and luxury vehicles from the Dubai apartment of a wealthy Instagram celebrity while he was asleep.
The con artist had a crew of twelve working with him. Eventually, he was charged with “obtaining money from others through fraudulent means” after authorities discovered the email addresses of two million victims on seized phones and computers.
In 2021, the former Lagos-based secondhand clothing dealer pled guilty in a California court to money laundering and other business email scams that cost his victims almost $24 million.