Hushpuppi facing up 20 years in Federal Prison

Alleged cybercriminal and social media personality Raymond Igbalode Abbas, known as “Hushpuppi” is facing 20 years in federal prison. This comes after he was extradited to the United States  to face criminal charges against him alleging that he and others conspired to launder millions of dollars from Business Email Compromise (BEC) frauds and other scams he run.

Hushpuppi, a Nigerian national, arrived in Chicago last Thursday from the Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Hushpuppi made his first U.S. court appearance this morning.

Abbas was arrested in June by UAE law enforcement officials after an operation named “fox hunt” was completed.  FBI special agents earlier this week obtained custody of Abbas and brought him to the United States to face a charge of conspiring to engage in money laundering that is alleged in a criminal complaint filed on June 25 by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Abbas maintains social media accounts that frequently showed him in designer clothes, wearing expensive watches, and posing in or with luxury cars and charter jets. “The FBI’s investigation has revealed that Abbas finances this opulent lifestyle through crime, and that he 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,” according to the affidavit.