From Fadeyi Elizabeth.
Dubai Police authorities on Wednesday June 10th, 2020 confirmed the arrest of well-known Nigerian Instagram personalities Raymond Igbalode Abbas also known as Hushpuppi and Mr Woodberry and some other 10 suspects on multiple allegations of fraud involving spanning across 46 countries and 1.9 million victims.
Hushpuppi whose real name is Raymond Igbalodely was born in Lagos, Nigeria. He has not publicly revealed his age but is believed to be in his mid 30s. Hushpuppi hails from an humble family. With his father said to be a taxi driver while his mother was reportedly a baker
He once said that due to poverty, he was on the verge of becoming a pickpocket or even a robber. But he was soon ushered into professional online begging.
He had once been linked to being a fraudster when he forgot to hide the email address in a screenshot he shared on his Instagram. The email was later discovered to belong to one Jane Woodscrane based in Houston.
The billionaire businessman alongside his equally wealthy friend Mr Woodberry were reportedly ambushed and arrested in Dubai over allegations that they have committed large scale fraud.
The news broke on Twitter along with a video which went viral showing a fleet of police cars supposedly surrounding the home of Hushpuppi in the UAE where he resides .They were accused of leading an “international” online fraud network that was committing crimes outside the UAE, including money-laundering, cyber fraud, hacking, criminal impersonating, scamming individuals, banking fraud and identity theft.
Hushpuppi and his gang hacked corporate emails and sent fake messages to clients in order to redirect financial transfers and People’s bank details to their own accounts and has committed fraud amounting to 1.6 billion dirham (N168bn). Police seized items worth more than 150 million Dirhams from the gang after taking possession of 21 personal computers, 47 smartphones, 15 flash drives and 5 hard disks, 1, 926, 400 victims were allegedly scammed by Hushpuppi while 13 luxury cars worth 25 million Dirhams were bought by Hushpuppi and his gang with the money stolen from people who have been scammed. He was allegedly arrested for laundering money meant for Native Americans during the coronavirus pandemic he was involved in a fraud of N13.5bn ($35m) meant for ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients in the country.
Huspuppi and his friends, flew to Dubai to pick money, a total of $35 million dollars, for some Nigerian scammers. When they got to Dubai they told the scammers back home that there was only $5 million availbale. To make matters worse, out of the $5 million they sent, $1 million only.
With this, the scammers were infuriated leading them to leak all evidence to the interpol and the FBI, connecting the operation to Hushpuppi and his friends
Before his arrest, hushpuppi who have over 2.4 millon follower on his verified Instagram account claimed to be a real estate investor and businessman who often posts pictures with his luxury cars like Ferrari and Rolls Royce and a private jet and always shows how he life his exotic lives.
He became famous based on the pictures and videos he shared on Instagram and Snapchat. Many were mesmerised by his wealth. He often flaunts his Gucci clothes as he is well known for his love for Gucci product which earn him the nickname Gucci master, private jets, luxury cars and expensive trips all over the world on his social media pages.
Hushpuppi has reportedly rented luxury houses in Thailand and Dubai. He once revealed that he paid 24 million naira (around $66 000) to rent an apartment. Some popular cars in Hushpuppi’s garage include the Range Rover Sport, Mercedes-Benz G-wagon, a Ferrari 488 GTB said to cost ₦92 million, Mercedes-Benz Maybach S650 which we have confirmed to have a starting price of ₦72 million. On his newly acquired car he spent he spent ₦6.2Million on a new set of custom rims to adorn the 2020 Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV.
Obviously, his poor background had forced him into the world of crime. But his greedy indulgence made him a famous person for his lavish lifestyle at the expense of hardworking fellows.
Hushpuppi was also one who enjoyed controversies, he had at different points in time clashed with artistes such as Davido, Phyno, Timaya, Kcee amongst others who he often said they are no match for his wealth.
On July 2nd, 2020, Hushpuppi, along with his associates, was extradited to the United States of America.
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