The United States District Court for the Central District of California has postponed the sentencing of Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, till July 11, 2022.
Court document reveals that Judge Otis D. Wright in Los Angeles, granted the order after Hushpuppi’s lawyers led by Louis Shapiro, entered a request for postponement. However, Hushpuppi is expected to remain in custody in the intervening period of the delay.
The court document after the decision was taken read in part: “At the request of counsel, the sentencing is continued to July 11, 2022, at 11:00 a.m.”.
The Nigerian Internet fraudster was previously scheduled to be sentenced on February 14, 2022, for duping people across different continents to the tune of millions of dollars. He pleaded guilty last year to the charges, seeking a lighter sentence.
It can be recalled that Hushpuppi, who was known for his luxury life, was arrested in the UAE in June 2020, alongside 11 of his associates over allegations bordering on hacking, impersonation, scamming, banking fraud, and identity theft. His extradition to the United States followed after the UAE police detailed his arrest in a special operation dubbed, ‘Fox Hunt 2’, where he was accused of defrauding 1.9 million victims to the tune of 168 billion Naira.
In 2021, an FBI Special Agent, Andrew Innocenti, alleged that Hushpuppi contracted the services of Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), after a “co-conspirator”, Chibuzo Vincent, allegedly threatened to expose an alleged $1.1million fraud committed against a Qatari businessman.
Innocenti, who disclosed he obtained voice calls and WhatsApp conversations between Kyari and Hushpuppi, also alleged that Huspuppi paid the police officer 8million Naira for the arrest and detention of Vincent.
The Nigerian DCP, Abba Kyari and several other Nigerian co-conspirators of Hushpuppi have either been indicted or currently facing charges at different courts over the intercontinental conspiracy that spanned several years.
Police Commission Orders Fresh Probe Into DCP Abba Kyari’s Link To Hushpuppi
In Nigeria, the Police Service Commission (PSC) has directed the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, to conduct fresh investigations into the link between the suspended head of the Intelligence Response Team, Abba Kyari, and an internet fraudster, Hushpuppi.
It was gathered that the Commission, directed the IGP to submit a report within two weeks which would be examined by the PSC Standing Committee on Discipline. The directive to the IGP was sequel to the advice from the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
A four-man Special Investigation Panel headed by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department, Joseph Egbunike, earlier probed Kyari, but the probe was deemed to be “shallow and not water-tight”.
According to reports, the AGF noted that the facts contained in the police investigation report were not strong enough to convict the DCP.
Malami was reported to have informed the commission that the police investigation on Kyari needed more facts to establish the relationship between the ex-IRT commander and Hushpuppi, who is awaiting sentencing after striking a plea bargain deal with the US authorities.
Based on the AGF’s advice, the commission was reported to have asked the IG to carry out a further probe into Kyari’s relationship with Hushpuppi.
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