How much money are you willing to spend on designer outfits, luxury cars, A-list friends, and a social media feed curated with the trappings of indelible, gaudy wealth? A few hundred thousand dollars? Or how about 11 years in prison and $1,732,841 in restitution?
That is the sentence that Ramon Abbas, better known as "Billionaire Gucci Master" or @hushpuppi on Instagram, received after pleading guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering. Before his 2020 arrest in Dubai, he had more than 2 million Instagram followers, The Guardian reported.
iRobot Roomba Combo i3+ Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum and Mop—$329.99(List Price $599.99)
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 10.9" 64GB Wi-Fi Tablet—$178.99(List Price $219.99)
Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen With MagSafe USB-C Charging Case—$199.00(List Price $249.00)
Eero 6 Dual-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (Router + 2 Extenders)—$149.99(List Price $199.99)
Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS, 41mm, Midnight, S/M, Sports Band)—$299.00(List Price $399.00)
Don Alway, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said in a statementthat Abbas was "one of the most prolific money launderers in the world."
"Abbas leveraged his social media platforms – where he amassed a considerable following – to gain notoriety and to brag about the immense wealth he acquired by conducting business email compromise scams, online bank heists and other cyber-enabled fraud that financially ruined scores of victims and provided assistance to the North Korean regime," Alway said. "This significant sentence is the result of years' worth of collaboration among law enforcement in multiple countries and should send a clear warning to international fraudsters that the FBI will seek justice for victims, regardless of whether criminals operate within or outside United States borders."
Tweet may have been deleted
Abbas, who is Nigerian, wasn't particularly picky when it came to money laundering. He worked with a Canadian man, according to prosecutors, to predominately launder money using bank cyber-heists and business email compromise. In 2019, he helped launder more than $14 million stolen by North Korean hackers from a bank in Malta. He also helped launder millions of dollars stolen from a British company, a UK football club, a New York-based law firm, and someone in Qatar who wanted a loan to build a school.
According to VICE News, just a year before his capture, Abbas posted the words: "My story is filled with broken pieces, bad decisions and some ugly truths. But it is also filled with a major comeback." He will be deported to Nigeria after he serves his sentence.
TopicsInstagramMoney
(责任编辑：熱點)
MashReads Podcast: What makes a good summer read?
Jon Stewart's 'Irresistible' is a condescending fantasy: Review
Facebook users can now archive or trash old posts in bulk
Apple Maps will help drivers avoid redResearchers create temporary tattoos you can use to control your devicesMetallica to seek and destroy your eardrums with new album this fall
Metallica was never going to keep quiet forever. 。 The band has announced its new album, Hardwired&he
...[详细]Guy Fieri loves John Krasinski and 'The Office' as much as you do
Guy Fieri — one of the most popular celebrity chefs—has spent nearly 15 years starring i
...[详细]Pandemic on Steam is the perfect quarantine activity
The best thing most of us can do to fight the global pandemic is nothing: stay home, stay safe, publ
...[详细]Everything coming to Hulu in August 2020
Hulu is coming in hot!This August, the streaming service will see the arrival of Season 3 of the tee
...[详细]Tourist survives for month in frozen New Zealand wilderness after partner dies
A tourist from the Czech Republic, whose partner fell to his death, survived a harrowing month in th
...[详细]Realme Watch looks like Apple Watch, costs $50
In the world of smartwatches, there's one king — the Apple Watch — and a lot of copycats
...[详细]5 trends that shaped TikTok in 2020, so far
In the last two years, TikTok has become a content machine. From its never-ending For You Page to it
...[详细]
Do you trust companies like Facebook to accurately and completely tell you how, and to what extent,
...[详细]SINGAPORE -- Getting stuff done at the bank often involves having to waste part of your day standing
...[详细]One Twitter account is reposting everything Trump tweets. It was suspended within 3 days.
"This account will tweet what the President tweets," Twitter account SuspendThePres posted on May 29
...[详细]Metallica to seek and destroy your eardrums with new album this fall
This Chrome extension lets you skip the scary parts of Disney movies
