Olalekan Jacob Ponle, a socialite living in Dubai and a close friend of Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, better known as Hushpuppi, a well-known Nigerian Instagram influencer and convicted felon, has admitted guilt to fraud charges brought against him in a US court.
Olalekan Ponle, also known as Woodberry, consented to hand over the $8 million in gains from the fraudulent Business Email Compromise (BEC) operation.
In response to the eight-count fraud indictment levelled against him for participating in the BEC scam, Woodberry had first entered a not guilty plea.
However, Woodberry changed his mind and pled guilty to one of the indictments in a plea declaration that was filed at the United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division on April 6.
According to his plea agreement, he was required to repay the $8 million he fraudulently received from seven companies that fell for his scam.
Part of his plea bargain includes the forfeiture of his luxury cars and expensive fashion accessories, four Rolex watches, and three Audemars Piguet watches. One Patek Philippe watch, six gold neck chains and three gold and diamond studded earrings.
While the luxury cars Woodbery would forfeit include Lamborghini Urus (N4973), Mercedes Benz G-class (G68816), and a Rolls Royce Cullinan with vehicle no J9153.
Recall that Woodberry had in 2022 forfeited 151.8 Bitcoin of about $6 million to the American government.
He was arrested in Dubai on the 10th of June 2020 alongside Hushpuppi, who is currently serving an 11-year sentence for a similar fraud charge.
