The US government has dismissed reports that detained Nigerian influencer Hushpuppi, executed a $400,000 internet fraud from prison.
Hushpuppi, 37, was arrested in the United Arab Emirates in 2020 for crimes that cost victims almost $24m, and is currently in a US jail awaiting sentencing having pleaded guilty to money laundering.
On Thursday (17.03.2022), a document emerged on social media claiming that the FBI filed new evidence against Hushpuppi on Wednesday for defrauding Americans using prison internet facilities.
It is not clear where the document originated from yet it has gone viral on Twitter and been reported by many news organisations.
BBC reports that an official of the US Department of Justice said the US Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, which filed the case against Hushpuppi, has not filed any such document.
“The document appears to have been fabricated… We have checked with the FBI who supposedly authored the document, and they confirm it is a fake,” an official said.
Hushpuppi whose real name is Ramon Abbas is known for posting photos of his lavish lifestyle on Instagram, where he has 2.5m followers.
