Why We Cant Release HushPuppi Yet – US Court

Five major reasons has been given for the continuous detention of Ramon Abbas, also known as Hushpuppi, the Nigerian Instagram celebrity accused of fraud.

The United States Court sitting in Illinois gave the reasons in a comprehensive report today.

Recall that last month in Dubai, Mr Abbas was arrested for wire fraud and extradited to the U.S on July 3.

Prior to his arrest, he was known to be leaving an extravagant life on Social media, without any verifiable source of income.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation alleged that Mr Abbas was part of a network that made “hundreds of millions of dollars” from business email compromise frauds and other scams.

Giving reasons for his continuous detention, the court gave five factors.

They include the fact that Mr Abbas is subject to lengthy period of incarceration if convicted, lacks significant community or family ties to the district, lacks significant family or other ties outside the United States, lacks legal status in the country and will be subjected to removal or deportation for serving any period of incarceration.

The court further noted that if the allegations were true, Mr Abbas has sufficient assets to fund flight to anywhere in the world, and he has ties with many foreign countries.

“Abbas reportedly rents an apartment in Dubai for $10.000 a month and drives a Bentley. He is alleged to have committed financial crimes that netted tens of millions of dollars or more.”

For these reasons and those stated on the record, Mr Abbas shall be removed to the charging district in the custody of the US Marshal, the court concluded in the report.

Mr Abbas might spend the next twenty years in prison if convicted of the crime.