HUSHPUPPI PLEADS GUILTY TO MONEY LAUNDERING

Ramon Olorunwa Abbas alsoknown as Hushpuppi has pleaded guilty to money laundering and other illegal business email schemes. 

This comes even after maintaining his innocence for more than a year against charges levelled against him by the U.S government after being arrested in Dubai.  Hushpuppi agreed to plead guilty to the charges and he has now entered into a plea agreement with the U.S government seeking a lighter punishment. 

According to a plea agreement between the social media influencer and the U.S government, the charges which include conspiracy to engage in money laundering attracts a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment among other punishments. 

A date is set to be fixed for Hushpuppi to change his previous “not guilty” plea to “guilty” and will be followed by a sentencing hearing for the judge to determine how long he will spend in jail. He also agreed to abide by all agreements regarding sentencing contained in this agreement and concedes that all court appearances, including his change of plea hearing and sentencing hearing, may proceed by video-teleconference (VTC) or telephone. 

Further, the plea agreement states that Hushpuppi will be required to pay full restitution to the victims  of the offence despite pleading guilty. The 38-year-old was arrested in Dubai in June 2020 by special agents including the Emerati police officers and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) operatives.