Tobias Sylvester
Nigerian internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, has begged the United States District Court for the Central District of California that he is at risk of being harmed by the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari if deported to Nigeria.
Hushpuppi Begs Not To Be Deported Back To Nigeria
KanyiDaily recalls that Hushpuppi had pleaded guilty to various offenses bordering on internet scam and money laundering, among others.
Hushpuppi had also confessed to bribing Kyari to have one of his rivals, Kelly Chibuzor Vincent, arrested and jailed in Nigeria following a dispute over the $1.1 million fraud that victimized a businessman in Qatar.
During his recent arraignment, Hushpuppi told the court that his role in the indictment of Kyari, which precipitated his downfall has put him at grave risk and he would not be able to return to Nigeria after serving his sentence in the U.S.
The pleas were outlined in a memorandum submitted by Hushpuppi’s lawyer, Louis Shapiro before Judge Otis Wright seeking a downward review of sentencing years demanded by the prosecutors after the Nigerian pleaded guilty to multimillion-dollar fraud last year.
“Once this case is resolved and Mr. Abbas is released, that he will not be able to return to Nigeria,” Shapiro wrote in the counter request.
“Abubakar Kiyari, a Nigerian politician and police commissioner, operates a death squad. Kyari was indicted in the Juma case by the government’s investigation into this case.
“Mr. Abbas hopes to move his family out of Nigeria when he gets out of prison. The looming threat of Mr. Kyari’s supporters, as well as intense media harassment, has forced his family to continue moving to secret locations within Nigeria.
“They must rent different apartments simultaneously while continuously changing telephone lines. Additionally, his children face the possibility of going through their formative years without their father.”
Hushpuppi also appealed to US Judge Otis Wright to temper justice with mercy and a lighter jail term after scoring high in the cleaning activities.
The fraudster told the judge that he was one of the best cleaners in the prison where he has been remanded since his arrest in 2021.
Shapiro said his client had become a changed person in prison and should be handed a lighter sentence of about two years in prison, but the US attorney, Khaldoun Shobaki demanded 11 years in prison and $2.2 million in restitution and fines.
The presiding Judge, Wright is scheduled to hear the sentencing arguments of the prosecution and defence of Hushpuppi on September 21 before delivering his judgment in the matter.
KanyiDaily had reported how Hushpuppi was arrested in the United Arab Emirate, Dubai on June 10, 2020, alongside 11 of his associates over allegations bordering on hacking, impersonation, scamming, banking fraud, and identity theft.
