How Hushpuppi caught FBI attention, leading to downfall

BY NICHOLAS ABE

Emerging facts have revealed that Nigeria’s alleged Internet fraudster, Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, popularly known by the Moniker, Hushpuppi, may have shot himself in the foot by his public display of ill-gotten wealth on the social media, especially Instagram.

Hushpuppi was arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in June after months of investigation by the Dubai Police. He was arrested alongside 11 other gang members and thereafter extradited to the United States, where he is currently standing trial.

The FBI accused him of defrauding an American victim of the sum of $922,857.76 and laundering approximately $396,050 in Los Angeles, California, United States, and various other sums of money through fraudulent wire transfers to banks around the world in 2019.

In an affidavit sworn to by a US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent, Andrew John Innocenti, in a United States District Court, Central District of California, on June 25, 2020, Hushpuppi was described as “a Nigerian national living in the United Arab Emirates (the “U.A.E.”), whose social media accounts frequently show him in designer clothes, wearing expensive watches, and posing in or with luxury cars and charter jets.”

According to Agent Innocenti, who said he was involved in the investigation of the Nigerian, Hushpuppi financed his opulent lifestyle through crime, and was one of the leaders of a transnational network that facilitated computer intrusions, fraudulent schemes and money laundering, targeting victims around the world in schemes designed to steal hundreds of millions of dollars.

He said: “ABBAS participated in these fraudulent schemes and money laundering in coordination with multiple co-conspirators, including the persons referred to herein as Coconspirator 1 and Coconspirator 2.

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“Analysis of Coconspirator 1’s iPhone and other online accounts showed that Coconspirator 1 operated and tasked money mule crews for a number of fraudulent schemes, including BEC schemes and cyber-heists. Analysis also showed that Coconspirator 1 communicated with the U.A.E. phone number +971543777711 (“Phone Number 1”) about multiple fraudulent schemes and money laundering. As described below, Phone Number 1 was one of the phone numbers ABBAS used during 2019 and 2020.

“Based on my review (pursuant to federal search warrants obtained in this District) of data from Coconspirator 1’s iPhone and from an online account connected to that phone (the “Online Account”), other law enforcement personnel review of that digital data, and from discussions with United States Secret Service (“USSS”) and FBI personnel, I know the following:

“A. Coconspirator 1’s iPhone listed Phone Number 1 (+971543777711) with the contact name ‘Hush.’ The phone also contained a contact for Snapchat username ‘hushpuppi5,’ which listed the Snapchat contact name, ‘The Billionaire Gucci Master!!!’

“B. Searches of Phone Number 1 and the contact name “Hush” in Coconspirator 1’s iPhone revealed messaging conversations between “Hush,” using Phone Number 1, and Coconspirator 1 (For ease of reference, communications with this moniker and Phone Number 1 are referred to as communications with ABBAS in the remainder of this affidavit).”

The FBI agent recalled that in or around December 2019, April 2020, and June 2020, he reviewed the publicly viewable Instagram account of Hushpuppi at www.instagram.com/hushpuppi and based on information available on the profile page, the user of that account made more than 500 posts and had 2.3 million followers as of June 2020.

“This Instagram account included numerous publicly viewable images of a man who appeared to be ABBAS, based on comparisons to photographs of ABBAS in passports and other identification documents referenced below in paragraph s 16.c to 16.c.iv. Hundreds of these images on the Instagram account showed ABBAS in designer clothing and shoes, posing on or in luxury vehicles, wearing high-end watches, or possessing other luxury items, indicating substantial wealth.

READ: Hushpuppi: How he stole $435.6 million, captured by Dubai police

“A. For example, on June 6, 2020, ABBAS posted a photograph of a white Rolls Royce Cullinan that included the hashtag “#AllMine.” On February 27, 2019, ABBAS posted a photograph of himself in front of two vehicles, one of which he described as his new Rolls Royce Wraith. Based on review of publicly available pricing information, the starting price for each of these vehicles is approximately $330,000.

“B. More than two dozen images showed ABBAS in front of, on top of, or inside other luxury vehicles, including multiple models of Bentley, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Rolls Royce.

“C. On numerous occasions, ABBAS posted photos of himself wearing items and/or holding shopping bags from luxury stores such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Channel, Versace, Fendi, and more.

“D. On multiple dates, including April 17, 2020, June 19, 2019, and July 1, 2019, ABBAS posted images of himself inside or in front of private jets. Multiple photographs also appeared to show ABBAS posing in locations around the world (such as Dubai and Paris).

“This Instagram profile also claimed that the user was a real estate developer and listed the user’s Snapchat account as ‘Hushpuppi5,’ which is the same Snapchat account name that was saved in Coconspirator 1’s iPhone.

“Based on records from Instagram received in June 2020, the Instagram account was subscribed with the name ‘RAY,’ the email address [email protected], and the verified phone number +971502818689 (“Phone Number 2”). The Instagram account was created on October 10, 2012, and recent account history from 2020 showed logins from Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses located in the U.A.E. (ABBAS lives in the U.A.E., based on information from his email and social media accounts, financial records, and internet research, some of which is further discussed below),” Agent Innocenti narrated in his affidavit before the court.

The FBI agent gave a vivid account of the investigation of Hushpuppi, detailing his activities on the social media, Internet in general and movements around the globe.