U.S. defense lawyers representing Nigerian scammer Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, applied to withdraw from his case.
Gal Pissetzky and Vicki Podberesky said Abbas stopped communicating with them after he retained a new attorney to represent him.
The attorneys announced their decision after months of negotiations with the federal government, according to Premium Times.
Abbas, 37, was arrested in June in Dubai and extradited to Chicago to face money laundering and wire fraud charges.
Video shows a stunned Abbas being taken from his luxury apartment in Dubai by special operations forces and Emerati police officers in June.
His lawyers told a judge that Abbas is the father of five children, including a child who lives with his mother in Virginia. But the judge ordered Abbas detained until his trial, and said Abbas would not be allowed to stay with a girlfriend’s uncle in Homewood, Illinois, because he is a flight risk.
The federal prosecutor said Abbas “never visited” the girlfriend or their child in the United States and there is no evidence that he has ever even met this ‘uncle.’
Abbas’ lawyer said his client is a social media influencer who earned his millions legally by promoting high end luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Fendi on Instagram.
After his arraignment in Chicago, Abbas was transferred to Los Angeles, California where his trial is set to begin in May 2021.
According to an affidavit obtained by Premium Times, Abbas and his co-conspirators stole hundreds of millions of dollars from 1.9 million victims around the world.
Abbas, pictured above in his $10,000-a-month apartment at the Palazzo Versace in Dubai, also convinced hundreds of social media users around the world to set up bank accounts to launder that money.
He used the money to finance his extravagant lifestyle which he flaunted on Instagram.com.
Authorities seized his fleet of cars including a Ferrari, Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Lamborghini. He rocked $150,000 diamond-studded wristwatches and he purchased a Rolls-Royce SUV just to ferry his luggage to the airport.
Abbas regularly mocked his 2.5 million followers, telling them to get their money up and referring to them as “peasants.”
Abbas and his crew swindled victims by sending emails that appeared to come from law firms.
“Shark Tank” star Barbara Corcoran was duped into sending $400,000 cash via a wire transfer after receiving a phishing email that she mistakenly believed was an invoice for a real estate transaction.
According to a Secret Service agent who investigates Nigerian email crimes, victims are tricked into sending money to bank accounts that the criminals control.
“These crimes are heartbreaking,” Brian Krebs, the editor of KrebsOnSecurity.com, told The New York Post. “Victims send payments to the wrong place and, nine times out of ten, the money is gone.”
