Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, the notorious internet fraudster, has once more had his sentencing delayed by the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
The 39-year-old was scheduled to receive his sentence on Monday, September 19, in the afternoon, but the court moved it up to November 3, 2022, after he received an unexpected victory in the ongoing trial.
According to the Peoples Gazette, the delay follows several days of unsuccessful appeals by his attorneys.
According to the report, Judge Otis D. Wright in Los Angeles stated that Mr. Abbas will now be sentenced on the new date based on the court’s own motion.
The prosecution had opposed delaying the sentencing past September 19, claiming that Mr. Abbas and his attorneys already knew about all relevant details of the case and were only looking to stall and obstruct the legal system.
However, Mr. Abbas’ attorneys, led by criminal defense lawyer Louis Shapiro, claimed the prosecution was attempting to pressure the judge into sentencing their client even though there were still some unresolved issues.
The lawyers also accused the prosecution in Central
California of Iacking human compassion and using
underhand tactics to make their case for at least 11 years in jail for their client.
Mr Wright had last week Thursday rejected Mr Abbas’ plea for a continuance, agreeing with the prosecutors that final sentencing should hold today at 1:30 p.m. But less than an hour to the scheduled sentencing, the judge ordered a postponement to November 3, which was the date Mr Abbas’ lawyers had requested.
Recall that Hushpuppi was arrested in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate (UAE) in June 2020, and subsequently flown to the U.S. He pleaded guilty to the charges in July 2021 and was ordered to remain in custody pending sentencing.
The sentence hearing was initially moved by Judge Wright
from February 14 to July 11 and then to September 19 at the counsel’s request
