A popular Nigerian Instagram celebrity facing wire fraud charges in the
United States, Ramoni Abbas (popularly called Hushpuppi), has settled
for a government lawyer after his case was transferred to another
district.
Mr Abbas, 37, who was resident in Dubai and known for
flaunting extravagant lifestyle on social media, was arrested last month
over money laundering allegations. He was extradited to the U.S on July
3.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation had earlier alleged that
Mr Abbas was part of a network that made “hundreds of millions of
dollars” from business email compromise frauds and other scams.
Also, the American government said Mr Abbas funded his extravagant lifestyle with stolen money.
PREMIUM
TIMES earlier reported how Mr Abbas hired a top lawyer in the U.S., Gal
Pissetzky of the Pissetzky & Berliner law firm as his attorney.
Mr
Pissetzky, renowned for handling criminal cases in Chicago, had argued
that his client sourced his money from promoting designer products on
social media and a real estate investment.
It should be noted a
Chicago court, on Monday, denied him bail and ruled that he remains in
detention till his next trial date later in the year.
However,
documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES showed that Mr Abbas’s case has been
transferred to the Central District of California for prosecution.
American prosecutors had earlier said Mr Abbas would still be transferred to Los Angeles, a city in California.
During
the detention hearing on Monday, the government orally renewed its
motion for removal in custody and the government’s oral motion was
granted.
“Accordingly, Defendant is ordered removed to the
Central District of California in the custody of the U.S. Marshal
forthwith. As provided by 18 U.S.C. § 3142(f), Defendant is remanded to
the custody of the U.S. Marshal and shall remain in custody until
further order of the Court,” Justice Gilbert ruled.
Transfer
documents signed by Thomas G. Bruton, the Clerk of the U.S Court in
Chicago, indicated that Mr Abbas was moved on Tuesday.
RAMON OLORUNWA ABBAS, aka “Ray Hushpuppi, arrested by Dubai Police
Moreover,
in the commitment letter sent to California, Mr Abbas refused to retain
Mr Pissetzky as his attorney. Rather, he requested that a
court-appointed counsel be assigned to him.
If convicted, Mr Abbas would get a minimum sentence of 20 years in the U.S. federal prison.
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