The “Federal Bureau of Investigation of the national government of United States, has alleged that, Instagram celebrity Hushpuppi has received fresh charges as US prosecutors submitted court documents showing that he committed fraud and laundered over $400k while in prison.” (The Vanguard)
According to the security authorities at a federal prison in the United States, Ramon Abbas aka, Hushpuppi, was observed between January 28 and March 4, 2022, and it was noticed that “Hushpuppi was using the internet more often” because a “dedicated system was setup for him and his activities were recorded for 7 days.”
It was soon found based on observations and recording of Hushpuppi’s activities that, the alleged internet fraudster “was actively buying EIP debit cards from an underground cybercriminal marketplace called StimulusCard” and that, “Hushpuppi bought a total of 58 EIP debit cards with a total value of $429,800 on the site and laundered the money through one AJ.”
Based on the documents presented before the United States District Court of California on Wednesday March 16, 2022, “fresh evidences indicting HushPuppi of committing fraud and money laundering in U.S Federal correctional facility, was filed against him.”
“The court documents stated that Hushpuppi, while in U.S Federal correctional facility, participated in the purchase and laundering of Economic Impact Payment debit cards fraudulently obtained from stolen data of U.S citizens and residents.”
“Economic Impact Payments are financial support offered by the US government to U.S residents according to the CARES Act. One of the ways eligible US residents receive their Economic Impact Payments is by debit cards.”
From the documents presented in court, it was therefore established that, “hackers use data of U.S residents to file and obtain Economic Impact Payments debit cards. They sell off these EIP cards in underground marketplaces to other cybercriminals.”