Hushpuppi is ‘legitimate real estate’, not a fraudster – US Lawyer reveals
“Absolutely not guilty of [the] charges they are accusing him of. (Abbas) was running a legitimate business and a very legitimate Instagram account and did not take part in any scam or fraud,” he said.
…. I’m planning vigorous defence to free Hushpuppi – Gal Pissetzly
Gal Pissetzky, the legal representative of alleged Internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, has said he has a legitimate real estate.
The lawyer said Hushpuppi is not a fraudster and his client ran legitimate businesses including real estate, according to Forbes.
Gal Pissetzky said Hushpuppi has a good chance of beating the fraud allegations against him.
The lawyer said, he planned to put up “vigorous defence to get him out of the case.”, the Punch reports.
Pissetzky is a top Chicago-based criminal defence attorney and has been involved in many notable cases in the United States of America.
Hushpuppi was arrested by the Dubai authorities in a sting operation.
Together with his gang, the 37-year-old was alleged to have defrauded 1,926,400 people from different parts of the world and stolen about 1.6bn Dirham (N168bn).
According to the police, 13 luxury cars, estimated at 35million Dirham (N3.7 billion) were recovered from the house where they were arrested.
The Dubai police later handed him over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the US, where he was arraigned on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, among others.
The FBI also alleged that Hushpuppi attempted to defraud an English Premier League football club of £100m (N48.4bn).
The allegation is contained in an affidavit deposed to by FBI Special Agent, Andre Innocenti, who is assigned to the Los Angeles Field Office Hi-Tech Organised Crime Squad.
The affidavit read in part, “Abbas and others further conspired to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from other fraudulent schemes and computer intrusions, including one scheme to steal £100 million (approximately $124 million) from an English Premier League soccer club.”
The FBI further stated that should Hushpuppi be convicted, he risks spending 20 years in jail.
Pissetzky told Forbes that the suspect was not guilty of the crimes.
“Absolutely not guilty of [the] charges they are accusing him of. (Abbas) was running a legitimate business and a very legitimate Instagram account and did not take part in any scam or fraud,” he said.
Asked how Abbas paid for his lifestyle, Pissetzky said, “He’s an entrepreneur. He has real estate involvement … (he’s) an Instagram personality. He was promoting brands and that’s how he was very legitimately making his money.”
When contacted, Pissetzky, “he said that the suspect’s case would go before a jury”, the Punch reports.
He said, “There is always a chance, absolutely. That’s why they hired me and that’s why I am going to put up vigorous defence and defend him. I will give him good representation. He has a chance. In the United States of America, you have a jury system.”
Asked if he would consider a plea bargain with the system to reduce Abbas’ sentence, Pissetzky said it was a discussion between him and his client.
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