Olalekan Ponle, also known as Woodberry, was given an eight year and three months in jail term by a United States federal court for committing a multimillion dollar scam.
Ramon Abbas, a popular Nigerian fraudster who was imprisoned for internet fraud in November 2022 and better known by his online persona Hushpuppi, is an ally of Woodberry.
Hushpuppi and Woodberry were detained on June 10, 2020, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for widespread global internet fraud.
According to court documents obtained by Peoples Gazette, Mr. Ponle was sentenced on July 11 by Judge Robert Gettleman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.
“The defendant is hereby committed to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to be imprisoned for a total term of 100 months as to count,” Mr. Gettleman declared.
Following his conviction on one count of fraud, Mr. Ponle received his sentence. In April, seven further offences were dropped as part of a plea agreement.
The court found that the fraudster, who was born in Nigeria, had the means to pay back the whole amount, but it waived all interest on the restitution amount. He will now make reparation payments totaling close to $8 million to seven victims.
American prosecutors asked for Woodberry to get a 14-year jail sentence on June 29 in retaliation for the fraud he committed between January and September of 2019.
The prosecution also asked the court for permission to sell the fraudster’s 152 bitcoins, but only after giving the public 30 days’ notice so that anybody with a claim might file one. When Mr. Woodberry was sentenced, it appeared that no one with a legitimate stake had come forward.
Additionally, the prosecutors suggested that Mr. Woodberry, who is well-known for flaunting his extravagant lifestyle on social media, forfeit items held by the Dubai police, including a Rolls-Royce, a Lamborghini Urus, a Mercedes-Benz G-Class AMG G55, four Rolex watches, a Patek Philippe watch, and three Audemars Piguet watches.
Along with Ramon ‘Hushpuppi’ Abbas, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for computer fraud in the US late last year, Mr. Woodberry was taken into custody on June 10, 2020.
Glamour Adah
Follow us on:
