U.S. govt speaks on holding Hushpuppi, Mr Woodberry inside low-security prison

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) has addressed an inquiry from Peoples Gazette regarding the placement of Nigerian internet fraudsters Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, known as Hushpuppi, and Olalekan ‘Mr. Woodberry’ Ponle in Fort Dix, a low-security prison facility.

The FBOP confirmed the Gazette’s report that both individuals are housed at Fort Dix but refrained from discussing specific conditions of their imprisonment. FBOP spokesperson Benjamin O’Cone stated that the bureau does not provide such details due to privacy and security concerns.

“Regarding your inquiry, for privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not comment on the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual, including sharing the reasons why a specific individual is designated to a particular correctional institution,” Mr. O’Cone wrote in an email to The Gazette on Wednesday.

O’Cone explained that the FBOP considers multiple factors before assigning an inmate to a particular facility, including medical needs and the level of supervision required.

“The FBOP designates individuals to institutions based on several factors. These factors include the level of security and supervision the individual requires, any medical or programming needs, separation and security measures to ensure the individual’s protection, and other considerations such as proximity to an individual’s release residence,” O’Cone told The Gazette.

Hushpuppi, 41, was arrested in June 2020 in Dubai and extradited to the U.S., where he was convicted of internet fraud. He was sentenced to 11 years in November 2022 by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II. Assigned prison number 54313-424, Hushpuppi was moved from a facility outside Los Angeles to Fort Dix, where he will serve the rest of his sentence until August 6, 2029.

Similarly, Mr. Woodberry was arrested in Dubai in June 2020. In July 2023, Judge Robert Gettleman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois sentenced him to eight years and three months for fraud. Mr. Woodberry, 33, was transferred from Danbury Correctional Center in Connecticut to Fort Dix. He holds prison registration number 54314-424 and is set for release on October 17, 2027, after which he will be deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).