Dubai Police have seized Dh150 million ($40.9m) in cash and
more than a dozen luxury cars in the arrest of an Instagram celebrity accused
of online fraud and money laundering.
In a video shared by the police, officers explained how they
arrested Nigerian gang leader Raymond Abbas, known as Hushpuppi.
Hushpuppi's principal scam was to create websites that
looked identical to well-known companies and banks, it is alleged.
He and his accomplices then used emails and messages to
prompt people to log in or make payments on the fake sites.
The gang hacked corporate emails and directed huge payments
by companies towards accounts they controlled.
Olalekan Jacob Ponle, known as Woodberry, was also arrested
along with ten other men in a operation involving six police SWAT teams.
Along with 13 luxury cars, valued at an estimated Dh25m
($6.8m), police confiscated 21 computers and 47 smartphones.
The gang had 119,580 "fraud files" as well as
addresses of more than 1.92 million victims.
Police said email addresses for 800,000 potential victims
were discovered, and that the gang could have scammed as much as Dh1.6 billion
from victims. Officers dubbed the operation Fox Hunt 2, after busting an
African cyber crime gang running a similar scam in February 2019, in which Dh32
million ($8.7 million) was stolen from victims.
Hushpuppi posed as a real estate investor and businessman,
with more than two million followers on Instagram.
His account shows a lavish display of wealth, landing at
Atlantis, The Palm in a helicopter and flying across the globe by private yet.
In one image he poses with his lime green Brabus
Mercedes-AMG G63 - which retails in Europe for close to half a million dollars
- wearing a lime green tracksuit to match.
In others, he wears Louis Vuitton tracksuits, a $150,000
Richard Mille Watch and poses outside the Four Seasons hotel in Paris.
At a wedding in Dubai attended by Nigerian celebrities that
made headlines in his home country, he was seen in a video dancing around the
room throwing $100 notes into the air.
Hushpuppi posed as a successful businessman
"celebrating his wealth via social media platforms, in an attempt to lure
victims from all over the world," Dubai Police CID chief Brig Jamal Al
Jalaf said.
"The suspects targeted victims overseas by creating fake
websites for well-known companies and banks in a bid to steal victims' credit
card information and then launder the stolen money," he said.
A senior prosecutor told The National last week: “They would
send out letters from email addresses almost identical to those of legitimate
companies, targeting customers of these companies, with the purpose of
diverting payments to themselves.
“Initial information includes that he was part of this gang
which fraudulently obtained cash and cars from people.
“His statement was taken by prosecution but this is just the
beginning of prosecution investigations.”
Hushpuppi was wanted for fraud in Europe, the US and
Nigeria. He was extradited to the US state of Pennsylvania this week.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday.@DubaiPoliceHQ takedown "Hushpuppi", "Woodberry", ten international cybercriminals in a special operation dubbed "Fox Hunt 2". pic.twitter.com/E8oOFHZftG— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) June 25, 2020
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