The United States Attorney’s Office for Central District of California, Los Angeles, has confirmed that the sentencing date for alleged international Internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, aka, Hushpuppi, remains unchanged and is scheduled for September 21, 2022.
In response to an email inquiry by Channels Television, the court’s Director of Media Relations, Thom Mrozek, announced this information on Friday, August 26.
The sentencing, initially set for February 14, was rescheduled to July 11 before being further postponed to September 21 of this year.
Mrozek stated that Hushpuppi, who pleaded guilty last year, is expected to be sentenced later this year by a federal judge in Los Angeles.
“Mr. Abbas is currently scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge in Los Angeles on September 21,” he said.
The 39-year-old Hushpuppi was arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) in June 2020 along with 12 others on allegations involving hacking, impersonation, scamming, banking fraud, and identity theft. He was subsequently extradited to the US for prosecution.
His extradition to the United States followed his arrest by the UAE police in a special operation called ‘Fox Hunt 2’, where he was accused of defrauding 1.9 million victims of N168 billion.
Having pleaded guilty to the charges in July 2021, he was ordered to remain in custody pending sentencing.
According to court documents, he faces a potential sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a 3-year period of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offense.”
On the other hand, Mrozek did not comment on the possible extradition of the suspended Head of Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team, DCP Abba Kyari, who was implicated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Hushpuppi’s case.
It was over a year ago that the court ordered the FBI to arrest Kyari.
“I am unable to offer any comment on the state of Mr. Kyari,” the court official added.
