The Nigerian Instagram influencer Ramon Abbas, 40, who flaunted his wealth on social media as Hushpuppi and the Billionaire Gucci Master was handed 11 years in a US prison for his role in a global heist and money-laundering scam.
Hushpuppi was sentenced in Los Angeles on Monday to 135 months in prison after pleading guilty in April 2021 to conspiracy to engage in money laundering, which included helping North Korean hackers launder money from their attempts to steal more than $1.3 billion through cyber-enabled bank thefts.
Abbas waived most of his rights to appeal the sentence, having pleaded guilty.
“Everything is on the table,” Abbas’s lawyer John Iweanoge said after the sentencing hearing in Los Angeles, where he suggested an appropriate sentence would have been four to five years. “It was way, way more than we thought,” he said.
Abbas gained fame in Instagram posts to his more than 2 million followers, often smiling in front of one of his Rolls Royces or his Ferrari, or kicking back in a seat on a private jet. On gossip blogs, he was known as a “Nigerian big boy,” shorthand for an online fraudster.
Abbas’s lawyers painted a picture of a family man and successful businessman who strayed into a world of crime and did little more than provide access to bank accounts to scammers.
Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Abbas to 11 years and three months in prison.
Abbas didn’t know how many people were involved in the conspiracy, nor how much money was involved, his lawyers said. They blamed his involvement on his naivete and poor judgement.