Hushpuppi Is An Entrepreneur, Made His Money Legitimately – Lawyer

Gal Pissetzky, lawyer to Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, has defended him amid allegations of fraud and money laundering.
Pissetzky, in an interview with Forbes, insisted that the suspected Nigerian fraudster is “an entrepreneur”, who made his money legitimately through “real estate” and “promoting brands” as an “Instagram personality.”
An affidavit filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), alleges that the suspect “conspired to launder funds stolen in a $14.7 million cyber-heist from a foreign financial institution.”
It was reported that the date and amount mentioned in the affidavit matches that of the attack on Malta’s Bank of Valletta in February 2019.
He is accused of being involved in a fraudulent scheme, which defrauded a New York-based law firm of approximately $922,800 through a combination of computer hacking and social engineering.
The FBI also revealed that Hushpuppi defrauded Italian football club, SS Lazio, of $2.5 million, meant to be a transfer fee for a Feyenoord player.
But Pissetzky maintained that his client is innocent of all the allegations against him.
“Absolutely not guilty of [the] charges they are accusing him of. Abbas was running a legitimate business and a very legitimate Instagram account and did not take part in any scam or fraud,” he further said.
On how Hushpuppi managed an expensive lifestyle, Pissetzky added:
“He’s an entrepreneur. He has real estate involvement … [he’s] an Instagram personality. He was promoting brands and that’s how he was very legitimately making his money”.
On his relationship with Premier League players; Tammy Abraham and Ezri Konsa, Pissetzky said his client has alot of people as friends.
“Mr Abbas is friends with a lot of people. Somebody who has that many followers – obviously he knows and has friends in a lot of places … it’s all legitimate,” he said further.
Hushpuppi, who is currently being held at MCC Chicago pending a bail hearing, faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
A hearing in Chicago on July 13 will determine if he will be detained pending trial.