Dee-Brief: International Instagram Fraudster Hushpuppi

Ramon Abbas - better known as Hushpuppi - was one of Instagram’s flashiest influencers. Private jets, designer clothes, luxury cars... but behind all that Gucci was a global network of cybercrime.

In this Dee-Brief mini-episode, Dee traces Hushpuppi’s astonishing rise from poverty in Lagos to superstardom in Dubai - and his spectacular fall, when U.S. investigators and Dubai police uncovered that his fortune came from massive international fraud and money-laundering schemes.

By the time the 'Billionaire Gucci Master' was sentenced to 11 years in prison, his downfall had become a cautionary tale about greed, image, and the blurred lines between online fantasy and real-world crime.

Sources:

• U.S. Department of Justice (Central District of California), Nigerian Man Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Launder Tens of Millions of Dollars from Online Scams justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/nigerian-man-sentenced-over-11-years-federal-prison-conspiring-launder-tens-millions

• U.S. Department of Justice (Central District of California), Nigerian National Brought to U.S. to Face Charges of Conspiring to Launder Hundreds of Millions of Dollars from Cybercrime Schemes justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/nigerian-national-brought-us-face-charges-conspiring-launder-hundreds-millions-dollars
  

• Al Jazeera, Nigerian Influencer ‘Hushpuppi’ Jailed in US for Money Laundering aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/8/hushpuppi-gets-prison-term-for-money-laundering-conspiracy
  

• Business Insider, The Instagram-Fueled Rise and Fall of Nigerian Influencer Hushpuppi businessinsider.com/hushpuppi-instagram-rise-fall-nigerian-influencer-cyber-crime-ramon-abbas-2022-12
  

• VICE, ‘He Got Burnt’: How One of Instagram’s Biggest Fraudsters Was Brought Down vice.com/en/article/hushpuppi-ramon-abbas-jailed
  

• BET News, Nigerian Influencer ‘Ray Hushpuppi’ Gets 11 Years In Prison For Money Laundering bet.com/article/4etxi2/nigerian-influencer-ramon-abbas-gets-prison-sentence-money-laundering

💀 About Dee-Brief:Your weekly bite-size dose of dark history and true crime from Switchblade Sisters Social Club - smaller stories, same creepy-cute energy.

🛍️ Merch:Creepy-cute fits on RedBubble. Treat yourself and support the show.

🔪 Listen & Subscribe:Find Switchblade Sisters Social Club and Dee-Brief on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.