July 3, 2020
United States authorities have alleged that suspected Nigerian fraudster, Ramon Abbas, also known as Hushpuppi, conspired to defraud an English Premier League club of £100 million (approximately $124 million).
The US Department of Justice stated this in a release on Friday, adding that Hushpuppi would face criminal charges for allegedly conspiring to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from business email compromise (BEC) frauds and other scams, including schemes targeting an American law firm, a foreign bank and an unnamed English Premier League soccer club.
“Abbas and others further conspired to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from other fraudulent schemes and computer intrusions, including one scheme to steal £100 million (approximately $124 million) from an English Premier League soccer club, the complaint alleges,” the DoJ said.
The DoJ affidavit alleges that Abbas and others committed a BEC scheme that defrauded a client of a New York-based law firm out of approximately $922,857 in October 2019.
It also said Hushpuppi and co-conspirators allegedly tricked one of the law firm’s paralegals into wiring money intended for the client’s real estate refinancing to a bank account that was controlled by Abbas and the co-conspirators.
Dubai police arrested Hushpuppi and Olalekan Ponle, also known as Woodberry along with 10 African cybercriminals in June in a special operation dubbed ‘Fox Hunt 2’.
The operation took down the suspects for committing crimes outside the UAE, including money-laundering, cyber fraud, hacking, criminal impersonating, scamming individuals, banking fraud and identity theft.
The suspects were caught in a series of synchronised raids by six SWAT teams from Dubai police who foiled the gang’s bid to deceive many people from around the world and steal their money.
Director of Dubai CID, Brigadier Jamal Salem Al Jallaf, said the raid resulted in confiscating incriminating documents of a planned fraud on a global scale worth AED 1.6 billion ($ 435 million).
Hushpuppi and Woodberry were extradited to the United States this week to face charges of money laundering and cyber fraud.
Hushpuppi, who is known for flaunting wealth on social media, could face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.