Hushpuppi, A Flight Risk, Judge; Can Defraud People With Just A Smart Phone – Counsel

By Akinwale Kasali

Alleged Fraudster, Ramoni Igbalode popularly known as Hushpuppi, has been denied bail by United States of America Judge, because he is considered a Flight Risk.

Hushpuppi was denied bail in spite of the insistence  of his lawyer, Gal Pissetzky, that his job as an Instagram celebrity paid for the $10,000 monthly rent on his luxury Dubai flat.

The alleged internet Fraudster had applied for bail through his lawyers, asking to leave jail with an electronic tag and live with the uncle of a woman with whom he has a child with, but US prosecutors opposed the bail application.

According to the United Arab Emirates that had earlier  arrested him before his extradition,  the prosecutors said he could commit crimes with just a smartphone, and an internet connection, and that he posed too much of a flight risk.

Reacting to prosecutors’ argument, Pissetzky said his client had too much to lose if he flees from the United States.  He told a judge in Chicago by videolink; “He is loved and respected. He is a celebrity.

“I don’t see the reason why he would want to ruin his credibility in the world, and his status rather than stay here and face this allegation.

“Anywhere he goes, people will know. Having grown up very poor in Nigeria, Mr Abbas is now paid to pose with high-priced items such as Louis Vuitton bags that people would buy after seeing his posts on Instagram.

“He is an influencer. That’s a job today, as much as it is hard to imagine. That’s a full-time job.”

Judge Jeffrey Gilbert who watched the proceedings from a prison video link, denied Hushpuppi bail on grounds of him being a flight risk.

Gilbert ordered that the suspected Nigerian fraudster be remanded in custody until he is taken to a court in California.