US Court gives major reasons for the refusal to grant Hushpuppi bail

The United States Court sitting in Illinois has given five major reasons for the refusal to grant Ramon Abbas, popularly called “Hushpuppi”, the Nigerian Instagram celebrity accused of fraud.

Hushpuppi arrested last month in Dubai for wire fraud and extradited to the U.S on July 3.

Before his arrest, the 37-year-old was resident in Dubai and known for flaunting extravagant lifestyles on social media.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation alleged that Hushpuppi was part of a network that made “hundreds of millions of dollars” from business email compromise frauds and other scams.

He was formerly held in the Metropolitan Correction Centre in Chicago, United States but now, would be transported to Los Angeles by the U.S. Marshals Service, a court in the Northern District of Illinois ruled.

Hushpuppi appearing at the detention hearing in July, was also denied the chance to stay with his girlfriend’s uncle in Homewood, Illinois, Forbes reported.

His trial will continue in Los Angeles where the case was first filed and not from Chicago where the investigation is being handled.

In a comprehensive report on the detention hearing, the court gave some reasons for the refusal to grant his bail.

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The report released on Monday was based on the recommendations of the Pretrial services, which provides the court quality information about the defendants.

The court concluded that the defendant must be detained pending trial because the government has proven that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance as required.

“The court agreed with the recommendation of Pretrial Services that Mr Abbas presents a risk of non-appearance and that he should be removed to the charging district in California in custody.”

In addition to the findings made on the record at the hearing, the court cited five major factors for the detention.

The factor include the fact that Mr Abbas is subject to lengthy period of incarceration if convicted, lack significant community or family ties to the district, lacks significant family or other ties outside the United States, lacks legal status in the country and will be subjected to removal or deportation for serving any period of incarceration.

Also, the court noted that if the allegations are true, Mr Abbas has sufficient assets to fund flight to anywhere in the world, and he has ties with many foreign countries.

“Abbas reportedly rents an apartment in Dubai for $10.000 a month and drives a Bentley. He is alleged to have committed financial crimes that netted tens of millions of dollars or more.”

For these reasons and those stated on the record, Mr Abbas shall be removed to the charging district in the custody of the US Marshal, the court concluded in the report.

Mr Abbas might spend the next twenty years in prison if convicted of the crime.

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