US Court Sentences Woodberry To 8 Years In Jail And Deportation After Serving Time

A United States district court on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 sentenced Hushpuppis ally Woodberry (real name Olalekan Ponle) to eight years in jail over wire fraud.

Woodberry, who was accused of defrauding a US company of about $188,000, insisted on his innocence for over two years but he reversed course and entered a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud at a change of plea hearing in April, at the US District Court for Northern Illinois.

The judge, Robert Gettleman, accepted the defendant’s change of plea in a ruling delivered on April 6.2023
“The defendant is hereby committed to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to be imprisoned for a total term of 100 months as to count,” Gettleman said.

The judge also said Woodberry would be “surrendered to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for deportation immediately following his incarceration”.
Woodberry is expected to pay about $8 million in restitution to seven of his victims.This comes after the court discovered that he is financially capable of making the payment in full, without interest.

Prosecutors, who learned he had 152 bitcoins, asked the court for permission to sell them and a 30-day notice was provided to the public for anyone with a legitimate interest in the assets to register claims, but no one showed up at the time of his sentencing.

He is expected to forfeit his assets in Dubai police custody, including a Rolls-Royce, a Lamborghini Urus, a Mercedes-Benz G-Class AMG G55, four Rolex watches, one Patek Philippe watch, and three Audemars Piguet watches.

Mr. Woodberry will also hand over 3 gold and diamond-studded rings, 5 gold bracelets and 2 gold bracelet keys, 6 gold neck chains, 1 gold and diamond-studded necklace, 1 small gold nugget, 2 bank cards, about $1,835 in Emirati dirhams, and approximately $15.45 in South African rands.

It was gathered that seven other counts were dropped as part of a plea agreement in April. Mr. Woodberry is now expected to surrender to the United States Marshals Service for transfer to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, where his family members, particularly his American fiancée, will be permitted to visit him.

Woodberry is an ally of Ramon Abbas, who is as popular as Hushpuppi, another Nigerian who was imprisoned for Internet fraud in November 2022.Hushpuppi and Woodberry were transported to the US for separate trials, after they were arrested in Dubai, UAE.
Although Hushpuppi initially denied all charges, he later changed his plea and was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment.

From Daily Post