US Moves Hushpuppi ,Woodberry, Rufai to Same Prison Before Valentine’s Day Release
By Omowumi Omotosho
The U.S. government has transferred three prominent figures in international cybercrime, Ray ‘Hushpuppi’ Abbas, Jacob Olalekan Ponle (Mr. Woodberry), and Bidemi Rufai, to Fort Dix prison in New Jersey.
Rufai, known for his political connections and extravagant lifestyle funded through fraudulent activities, is scheduled for release on Valentine’s Day, 2025.
These individuals, now housed in the low-security facility near Joint Base McGuire, have been closely monitored due to their involvement in crimes ranging from identity theft to wire fraud.
Rufai, associated with Nigerian political circles and arrested in May 2021 while attempting to flee to Nigeria from JFK Airport, was caught as part of an FBI investigation into COVID-19 relief fund fraud. His schemes involved stealing the identities of U.S. citizens to finance a lavish lifestyle, complete with luxury cars and watches.
He was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, sentenced to five years, and ordered to repay over $600,000 to various U.S. entities. Rufai, now identified as inmate 83912-053, has been relocated from Seattle to Fort Dix pending his upcoming release.
Joining him is Mr. Woodberry, formerly held at Connecticut’s Danbury correctional center, now transferred to Fort Dix. Woodberry, once flaunting opulence to his million-plus Instagram followers, faces release in October 2027 followed by deportation.
Hushpuppi, the third member of this notorious trio, has also been moved from a Los Angeles facility to Fort Dix. He was apprehended in Dubai in June 2020 and extradited to the U.S., where he received an 11-year sentence in 2022 for orchestrating various internet scams and displaying his illicit wealth on social media.
Their relocation to Fort Dix has sparked speculation about the Bureau of Prisons’ awareness of their past ties in Nigeria and Dubai, though officials have yet to comment on this development.
