Billionaire Gucci Master
How influencer ‘Hushpuppi’ turned from social star into billion-dollar criminal
Nigerian social media star Ramon Abbas is known by many names among his 2.5 million Instagram followers: Billionaire Gucci Master, Hushpuppi and Abbas. But now, he’s referred to as a “money launderer” and “criminal.” The 37-year-old influencer pled guilty to one count of money laundering in a California Court in April of 2021.
Hushpuppi attempted to steal more than $1.1 million from an unnamed individual who wanted to fund a new children’s school in Qatar. But this is just one of many schemes tied to Hushpuppi’s decade-long criminal spree, reportedly costing victims an estimated $24m. With multiple victims targeted across the globe, Hushpuppi’s court records indicate that the social media influencer could be facing up to 20 years in prison, and will need to “pay full restitution to the victims”.
Hushpuppi showcased his flashy lifestyle through Instagram, posing with cars and clothes, flexing his wealth for followers on a weekly basis. But shortly after posing in front of his new Rolls-Royce Wraith, Hushpuppi switched his bio from “Billionaire Gucci Master” to “Real Estate Developer,” in an attempt to legitimize his enterprise. Meanwhile, Kristi Johnson, acting director of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said Hushpuppi was one of the “most high-profile money launderers in the world”.
Abbas started his career of international crime while living in the northeast region of Lagos. His father was a cab driver, and his mother sold bread, while Abbas started his career as a car washer before diving into a life of cyber-crime.
In the early days of Yahoo email, Abbas created fake accounts under several names and would solicit funds from unsuspecting victims. Abbas would pose as a stranded soldier from America, strapped for cash and stuck in Africa, looking for a way home. Other times, he would pose as an eligible bachelor, engaging in online relationships and asking for money. Abbas and a group of other individuals began referring to themselves as the “Yahoo boys” after their email schemes.
After several swindles, the group migrated from Lagos to Kuala Lumpur, where the scams got more elaborate and the money grew. During his time in Malaysia, Abbas emerged as the ringleader of the group and started self-identifying as a billionaire. This led to a move to the UAE, where Abbas continued both his criminal career and his social media persona.
Once in Dubai, Abbas’ wealth grew exponentially. Now known under the moniker “Hushpuppi,” Abbas started posting pictures in Ferraris and Bentleys. He ordered crates of champagne to nightclubs, shared photos sporting $150,000 watches and claimed his designer luggage traveled in its own Rolls-Royce. But all these flexes of wealth required more ambitious schemes to keep the funds coming and his followers entertained. That’s when his Business Email Compromise (BEC) schemes became his signature. The scheme involves creating email addresses that only slightly differed from the original sender, confusing susceptible victims.
Abbas started mimicking the emails of law firms and other businesses known for their wire transfers, sending notices to expecting clients and intercepting financial transactions. But as Hushpuppi flexed more wealth on social media, his anonymity started to slip. He let slide his birthday on one post, which allowed the FBI and Interpol teams to link Hushpuppi to a recent visa application for a Dubai resident.
When the SWAT team pulled into the Palazzo Versace in Dubai to arrest him, they found $40 million in cash, 13 automobiles with a collected worth of $6.8 million, and 47 smart phones which were used throughout his cyber crimes. Hushpuppi and his crew were accused of running scams that netted a reported $456 million altogether.
After his arrest, additional crimes and email schemes started to emerge. One of these involved Abbas working with North Korean hackers to launder funds taken digitally from a Maltese bank. The heist occurred in February of 2019 and has been referred to by the Justice Department as a $14.7 million cyber-heist.
The Justice Department has stated in another indictment that the partnership between Abbas and the North Korean military hackers may have resulted in the extortion of more than $1.3 billion in both money and cryptocurrency.
Another scheme during the BEC phase of Hushpuppi’s career involved a Premier League Football Club where Abbas attempted to set up a bank account in Mexico that would intercept payments from a private firm to the undisclosed football club. The case of the club resulted in nearly $100 million in payouts. Similar scams reported cybercrime losses in 2020 of nearly $1.95 billion.
While Instagram brought fame to Hushpuppi, it also became the source of his downfall. Abbas often used his main cell phone in Dubai to send incriminating texts and DMs to collaborators and other individuals involved. The text messages served as the basis for most of the criminal charges against Hushpuppi.
Abbas remains in Los Angeles waiting to be charged for his cyber-crimes, while his partner Alaumary has already pled guilty to money laundering charges, throwing Abbas under the bus. He named Hushpuppi as a conspirator in the BEC scams, the Malta bank heist, and the Premier League scam. Abbas has now split from his attorney citing ‘irreconcilable disagreements regarding the theory of defense,’ replacing him with another L.A.-based attorney.
Two days before his arrest, Hushpuppi took to Instagram, and chose to share a photo of a Rolls Royce with the caption: “May success and prosperity not be a ‘once upon a time’ story in your life...Thank you lord for the many blessings in my life, continue to shame those waiting for me to be shamed.”
As of September 2021, Instagram has stated Hushpuppi can continue using his account, but as the criminal charges pile up, Hushpuppi may have to substitute his wealth content for more modest prison attire.
Did Abbas become addicted to the clout that fueled his pursuit of money? Did his addiction to social media turn him into a prisoner of wealth, letting his followers dictate his decisions? Only Hushpuppi knows these answers, but maybe he’ll share them to his Instagram when he gets out of prison.