Stop spreading fake news, Hushpuppi hasn’t been sentenced, US court warn Nigerians
The United States attorney’s office in the central district of California says Hushpuppi, the self-confessed international fraudster, has not been sentenced.
On Friday afternoon, a plethora of Nigerian news outlets reported that the embattled Instagram celebrity has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.
The reports also claimed that he “will spend only nine years, since he has already spent two years in prison in the US.”
But according to BBC, Mrozek Thom, who works in the US attorney’s office in California, said the reports are “false”.
Thom was also quoted as saying that the Nigerian has not been sentenced. He added that the sentencing will take place on Monday, November 7, 2022.
“It is not true. The sentencing hearing has not happened. It is scheduled to take place next Monday,” Thom was quoted to have said.
Hushpuppi had been arrested in the United Arab Emirates back in June 2020 alongside 11 of his associates over allegations bordering on hacking, impersonation, scamming, banking fraud, and identity theft.
His extradition to the United States had followed after the UAE police detailed his arrest in a special operation dubbed ‘Fox Hunt 2’, where he was accused of defrauding 1.9 million victims to the tune of N168 billion.
The socialite would later plead guilty to money laundering, putting him at the risk of 20 years imprisonment.
He was earlier expected to be sentenced on February 14 but the court adjourned the case to July 11.
The court session was again shifted to September 11 before it was further adjourned to November.