24 Things You Need To Know About Hushpuppi

By Timothy Ojo and Damola Emmanuel

Fast-paced lifestyle. Romance with men of power and wealth. And the nouveau riche. Outlandish parties. Exotic cars. Private jet. Top-of-the-range designer outfits. These and more define the vain-glorious life of the recently nabbed international cyber thief, Ramoni Igbalode Abbas, otherwise known as Ray Hushpuppi.

Though the source of the fraudster’s stupendous wealth was unknown, he flaunted it on Instagram, and wherever two or three people may be gathered in whatever name, to impress, deceive the undiscerning and entrap the gullible.

And he was very popular and even loomed large as the legend of social media with some 2.4 million followers on Instagram alone. Yet, there are many things many in that tumultuous crowd didn’t know or they knew but ignored.

The Crest will now serve you some facts you probably never knew about this fraudster.

Enjoy the serving:

1. Hushpuppi was born in Lagos on June 14, 1988; and this makes him 32 month.
2. Though born and raised in Lagos, his parents are said to be originally from Kwara State.
3. The fraudster’s father is said to be a taxi driver while his mother is a baker.
4. He was named Ramoni Igbalode from birth, and while others call him Ramon Olounwa Abbas.
5. Hushpuppi once sold second-hand clothes while growing up; and as adult, he also tried his hands on music, becoming a producer.
6. According to reports, he began his evil enterprise by selling Louboutin accessories to rich clients across Nigeria, thus cutting his teeth for a life of deceit, wealth and opulence.
7. In addition to Hushpuppi, the fraudster has countless other nicknames, including: Aja 4, Gucci Master, Aja Puppi, among others.
8. The scammer was originally domiciled in Malaysia before shifting base to Dubai in the United Arab Emirate, UAE.
9. He created a façade on social media where, on his Instagram account, he gives phony motivational nuggets on “striving hard”, at the same time flaunting his blood money and ostentatious lifestyle.
10. With 2.4 million followers, Hushpupi, to many social media users, is the undisputed King of Instagram.
11. Ramoni Igbalode has more than 50 Facebook accounts which he uses in entrapping his victims. He operates the accounts using fake names, phony photos, different schools, contrasting dates and places of birth, different cities and countries.
12. On one of his Facebook accounts, he names himself as Raymond Hushpuppy and claims to have hailed from Nsukka, Anambra State, but living in Enugu. In the same fake account, he claims to have attended Imo State University, Owerri.
13. There had been questions about Hushpuppi’s luxurious lifestyle. With any verifiable business or vocation, and with his obscene wealth and outrageous lifestyle, a big question constantly hanged on Ray Hushpuppi’s true identity. Although he had claimed to be a real estate developer, his true profession was exposed when the Dubai Police, collaborating with the FBI and Interpol, arrested.
14. Before they were caught, Hushpuppi and his gang were reported to have defrauded 1,926, 400 victims across the world, with Americans constituting the largest chunk.
15. Indeed, he and his gang were allegedly targeting an American firm and an unnamed British Premiership Club before Nemesis caught up with him.

• Hushpuppi is said to be worth $20 million. This explains the expensive drinks, the fashionable clothes, the private jet trips, the seven star hotels he lodges in.

17. He owns 13 super luxury cars estimated to have cost him a staggering N2.5 billion. His collections include the latest models of Bentley, Range-Rover, Phantom, Mercedes Gelentvagen, among others.
18. In his last Instagram post before his arrest, the international cyber scammer had posed with his latest exotic car, a 2021 white Rolls Royce Cullinan worth over $320,000.
19. He dated an Instagram influencer and model, Amirah Dyme, and hobnobbed with some Nigerian music stars, powerful Nigerian politicians across the aisle, international football stars, to mention a few. However, super model, later dumped him for an Arab boyfriend and distanced herself from the caged fraudster.
20. After four months of tracking Hushpuppi and his gang, the Dubai Police, collaborating with the FBI and Interpol, on June 24, 2020, arrested him with Olalekan Jacob Ponle, popularly known as Woodbery, and 10 other suspects in a sting operation code-named: ‘Operation Fox Hunt 2’.
21. The fraudster’s arrest was in connection with a $35million ventilator scam. He was reported to have coordinated a staggering $350million or about N168 billion cyber scam.
22. On Thursday, July 2, 2020, Hushpuppi was extradited to the United States, to face charges.
23. On Saturday, July 4, 2020, Ray Hushpuppi appeared in court in the US, charged with running a global fraud operation, including targeting a Premier League football club, a bank and a US law firm.
24. If convicted, he faces 20 years in jail.