Since his detention, Hushpuppi has earned 500k Instagram followers, and some Nigerians continue to revere him. FBI

“His last post, a photograph of a white Rolls Royce Cullinan from June 6, 2020, has over 100,000 comments, many lionizing him, with some posted today.”

Ramon “Hushpuppi” Abbas, a well-known Instagram fraudster, maintains a healthy following despite being imprisoned and facing trial for extensive international cybercrimes, as the Federal Bureau of Investigation has highlighted with alarm.

This information may be found in court records outlining the U.S. government’s proposed sentence for Mr. Abas, which were submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California before to his trial on September 21.

The 17-page document obtained by Peoples Gazette stated, “As of the date of this filing, defendant’s Instagram account @hushpuppi had 2.8 million followers, nearly 500,000 more followers than at the time of his detention in Dubai.” “Over 100,000 people have commented on his most recent post, a picture of a white Rolls Royce Cullinan from June 6, 2020, many of whom are positive and some of which were posted today.”

Regarding Mr. Abbas’s use of social media, the bureau shares the prosecutors’ perspective.

Prosecutors under the direction of Khaldoun Shobaki claimed that Mr. Abass “has created a living and cultivated a following by utilizing his ill-gotten gains to create an expensive lifestyle.”

For his participation in a global conspiracy that brought in millions of dollars between 2019 and 2020, Mr. Shobaki urged the federal judge to sentence Mr. Abbas to 11 years in prison and three years of supervised release.

The FBI reported that Ghaleb Alaumary, one of his collaborators, had received a 140-year sentence for violating the identical set of laws.

Mr. Shobaki contended that in accordance with recommendations made prior to Mr. Abbas’ September 21 sentencing, Mr. Abbas should be required to pay $1.7 million in restitution, $500,000 in fines, and $100 in administrative fees.

According to the American authorities, Mr. Abbas had a good chance to live a law-abiding life but instead decided to live a life of crime.

The Central District of California’s United States District Court rejected Mr. Abbas’ request for release from prison in August.

Since his arrest in Dubai and extradition to the US in June 2020, Mr. Abbas has been in detention. His offenses included money laundering, cyber fraud, hacking, criminal impersonation, person-scamming, banking fraud, and identity theft that were perpetrated outside of the United Arab Emirates, according to intelligence authorities.

In July 2021, Mr. Abbas and the US government struck a plea agreement in which he admitted guilt to “conspiracy to engage in money laundering” from the previous year and asked for a reduced sentence.