一名自称“亿万富翁古驰大师”的尼日利亚网红因为参与国际诈骗集团洗钱超过3亿美元而被判处11年以上监禁。
拉蒙·阿巴斯在社交媒体上的网名是雷·哈什普皮,他被美国联邦调查局(FBI)称为“世界上最多产的洗钱者之一”。他在Instagram上炫耀自己奢华的生活方式,拥有豪华汽车和私人飞机,吸引了280多万名粉丝。
法庭文件显示,40岁的阿巴斯通过多项欺诈行为过上了奢靡的生活。在承认洗钱罪后,他和一名加拿大男子一起被判处135个月的联邦监禁。洛杉矶一名法官判决阿巴斯向两名受害者支付170多万美元的赔偿金。
法庭文件称,在18个月的时间里,他通过参与网上银行盗窃和商业电子邮件泄露(BEC),帮助洗钱超过3亿美元。商业电子邮件泄露是一种犯罪行为,包括冒充他人,侵入受害者的电子邮件账户,说服受害者向他们汇款。阿巴斯说,他的犯罪行为只为自己赚了30万美元。
阿巴斯的受害者包括一家纽约律师事务所,他说服这家律师事务所将90万美元汇入一个犯罪账户,还有一家不具名的英国足球俱乐部,还有某位人士,这位人士打算用他们的钱资助卡塔尔的一所新学校。
2019年,阿巴斯试图为朝鲜黑客从马耳他的瓦莱塔银行(Bank of Valletta)窃取的1,300万美元洗钱,该银行随后关闭了支付系统,使这个欧洲国家陷入混乱。
受害者“破产了”
“阿巴斯利用他的社交媒体平台……变得臭名昭著,并吹嘘他获得的巨额财富。”负责美国联邦调查局洛杉矶办事处的助理局长唐·奥尔韦在一份法庭文件里说。
他所犯下的欺诈行为“让数十名受害者破产,并为朝鲜政权提供了援助”。
“这一重大判决是多个国家执法部门多年合作的结果,这应该向国际诈骗犯发出一个明确的警告,即无论犯罪分子是在美国境内还是境外活动,美国联邦调查局都将为受害者寻求正义。”
据英国广播公司(BBC)报道,阿巴斯的罪行可以追溯到多年前,最初是恋爱欺诈,涉及在网上采用不同的身份,并欺骗恋人转账。
这位网红最初于2020年在迪拜的一处房产被捕,警方从那里查获了约4,100万美元和13辆价值680万美元的豪华汽车。(财富中文网)
译者:中慧言-王芳
一名自称“亿万富翁古驰大师”的尼日利亚网红因为参与国际诈骗集团洗钱超过3亿美元而被判处11年以上监禁。
拉蒙·阿巴斯在社交媒体上的网名是雷·哈什普皮,他被美国联邦调查局(FBI)称为“世界上最多产的洗钱者之一”。他在Instagram上炫耀自己奢华的生活方式,拥有豪华汽车和私人飞机,吸引了280多万名粉丝。
法庭文件显示,40岁的阿巴斯通过多项欺诈行为过上了奢靡的生活。在承认洗钱罪后,他和一名加拿大男子一起被判处135个月的联邦监禁。洛杉矶一名法官判决阿巴斯向两名受害者支付170多万美元的赔偿金。
法庭文件称,在18个月的时间里,他通过参与网上银行盗窃和商业电子邮件泄露(BEC),帮助洗钱超过3亿美元。商业电子邮件泄露是一种犯罪行为,包括冒充他人,侵入受害者的电子邮件账户,说服受害者向他们汇款。阿巴斯说,他的犯罪行为只为自己赚了30万美元。
阿巴斯的受害者包括一家纽约律师事务所,他说服这家律师事务所将90万美元汇入一个犯罪账户,还有一家不具名的英国足球俱乐部,还有某位人士,这位人士打算用他们的钱资助卡塔尔的一所新学校。
2019年,阿巴斯试图为朝鲜黑客从马耳他的瓦莱塔银行(Bank of Valletta)窃取的1,300万美元洗钱,该银行随后关闭了支付系统,使这个欧洲国家陷入混乱。
受害者“破产了”
“阿巴斯利用他的社交媒体平台……变得臭名昭著,并吹嘘他获得的巨额财富。”负责美国联邦调查局洛杉矶办事处的助理局长唐·奥尔韦在一份法庭文件里说。
他所犯下的欺诈行为“让数十名受害者破产,并为朝鲜政权提供了援助”。
“这一重大判决是多个国家执法部门多年合作的结果,这应该向国际诈骗犯发出一个明确的警告,即无论犯罪分子是在美国境内还是境外活动,美国联邦调查局都将为受害者寻求正义。”
据英国广播公司(BBC)报道,阿巴斯的罪行可以追溯到多年前,最初是恋爱欺诈,涉及在网上采用不同的身份,并欺骗恋人转账。
这位网红最初于2020年在迪拜的一处房产被捕,警方从那里查获了约4,100万美元和13辆价值680万美元的豪华汽车。(财富中文网)
译者:中慧言-王芳
A Nigerian influencer who dubbed himself “Billionaire Gucci Master” has been jailed for over 11 years for his role in an international fraud syndicate in which he conspired to launder over $300 million.
Described by the FBI as as “one of the most prolific money launderers in the world,” Ramon Abbas, who went by Ray Hushpuppi on social media, attracted a following of over 2.8 million on Instagram by flaunting his immensely lavish lifestyle, complete with luxury cars and private jets.
Abbas, 40, funded his excessive habits through multiple counts of fraud, according to court documents, and has now been sentenced, along with a Canadian man, to 135 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to money laundering. A Los Angeles judge ordered Abbas to pay over $1.7 million in restitution to two of his victims.
Over an 18-month period, court documents reveal, he helped launder over $300 million by engaging in online bank heists and business email compromise (BEC), a crime that involves impersonating others by hacking into email accounts and persuading victims to wire them money. Abbas says he only made $300,000 for himself through his crimes.
Abbas’s victims included a New York law firm which he persuaded to wire $900,000 into a criminal account, an unnamed British football club, and someone who was going to use their money to fund a new school in Qatar.
In 2019, Abbas attempted to launder $13 million stolen by North Korean hackers from Malta’s Bank of Valletta, which subsequently shut down payment systems, throwing the European country into chaos.
Victims were “financially ruined”
“Abbas leveraged his social media platforms…to gain notoriety and to brag about the immense wealth he acquired,” said Don Alway, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, in a court document.
The fraud he committed “financially ruined scores of victims and provided assistance to the North Korean regime,” he added.
“This significant sentence is the result of years’ worth of collaboration among law enforcement in multiple countries and should send a clear warning to international fraudsters that the FBI will seek justice for victims, regardless of whether criminals operate within or outside United States borders.”
Abbas’s crimes go back years, having first started in romance fraud, according to the BBC, which involves adopting the identities of different people online and persuading lovers to transfer money.
The influencer was originally arrested at a property in Dubai in 2020, from which officials seized around $41 million and 13 luxury cars worth $6.8 million.