A Nigerian influencer who showed off his lavish lifestyle on social media, including private jets and luxury cars, has been sentenced to prison for fraud and extortion of millions of dollars from U.S. and foreign companies.



According to CNN (USA) and The Guardian (UK) on the 8th (local time), the Federal District Court for the Central District of California announced that Ramon Abbas (40), who was active under the name of 'Ray Hushpuppi' on social media and had millions of followers, on the 8th (local time). was sentenced to 11 years in prison and $700,000 in compensation.



Abbas was an influencer with millions of followers and introduced himself as a 'real estate developer'.



His social media accounts were covered with photos and videos of himself leading a luxurious life, earning the envy and interest of the public.



The hashtag '#AllMine' is a video of scattering bundles of money, a photo showing off luxury fashion on a private plane, and even a photo of luxury vehicles such as Bentley, Ferrari, Benz, and Rolls-Royce posing in a line. was also put up.



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However, it turned out that all of these were fakes made with money stolen through online hacking, scams, etc.



There were various ways in which Abbas and his crew intercepted the money.



It was investigated that the money was intercepted by fabricating an email requesting a normal bank account transfer, impersonating a banker and creating a fake website, and was also involved in laundering the stolen money from a British football club.



He also helped North Korean hackers launder $14.7 million stolen from a Malta bank in 2019 by moving them to Romanian and Bulgarian banks.



According to the FBI investigation, he has so far stolen more than $24 million (about 33 billion won).



What helped the police arrest Abbas was none other than the photos and posts he posted on his account to show off his wealth.



After U.S. law enforcement officials used photos from a birthday party posted on Abbas's account to investigate, they worked with UAE authorities to arrest him in Dubai in June 2020 and confiscated cash, luxury cars and computers.



One of the gang later pleaded guilty to some money laundering charges in November 2020 and Abbas in April last year.



He also ordered the conspirators, who pleaded guilty, to 11 years in prison and to pay more than $30 million in damages.



"Money laundering and business email compromise scams are large-scale international criminal problems," said Martin Estrada, US Attorney. "We will continue to work with law enforcement agencies and international partners to identify and prosecute those involved."



Abbas's account is currently deleted.



(Photo = CNN NEWS)