Mr Woodberry Biography, Latest News

Mr Woodberry is a popular Nigerian fraudster and online scammer, widely known as an associate of the OG of internet fraud, Hushpuppi.

Woodberry is back in the news following the resolution of his fraud case with the United States government.

He has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and is expected to return $8m he illegally scammed from some companies as well as his ill-gotten cars.

Woddberry has also been sentenced to eight years in jail for his crimes and is expected to be deported back to Nigeria upon the conclusion of his sentence.

In this article, Nigeriabombshell.com takes a complete look at Mr Woodberry biography, Wikipedia, Instagram, net worth, Hushpuppi, latest news etc.

Mr Woodberry Biography / Wikipedia

Mr Woodberry, real name Olalekan Jacob Ponle is a Nigerian internet fraudster who is widely known as an associate of the OG of internet fraud, Hushpuppi.

He was born on the 25th of May in Lagos, Nigeria. His complete date of birth is unknown, as is his age. His birthday is on May 25th of every year.

Woodberry became popular in Nigeria as a wealthy Dubai-based businessman who lived a flashy life online.

He often flaunted his immense, unexplainable wealth. Like his partner, Hushpuppi, they became known for posing with different luxury cars, designer clothes, shoes, watches, houses and many other signs of wealth.

Most of this flaunting was done on Instagram where he has over 140,000 followers.

Not much is known about Woodberry’s early life. He was born and grew up in Lagos and eventually moved to Dubai as his fame and notoriety in the scamming world grew.

According to him, he received the name Woodberry from a friend due to being a comedian in high school.

In WhatsApp chats obtained by U.S Authorities that led to his arrest, a friend asked him where he got the name ‘Woodie’ from.

“It came from a friend awarding me that name cause I used to be a comedian in high school and ever since I retained it,” he replied.

After becoming popular due to always flaunting his riches on Instagram, questions rose up about Mr Woodberry’s source of wealth.

He answered them by claiming to be a property developer based in Dubai but in reality he was involved in various online scams that defrauded millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims around the world.

Mr Woodberry who operated together with Hushpuppi tricked an unnamed Chicago company to send them wire transfers totalling $15.2 million. Companies based in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New York and California also fell victim to their fraud schemes.

Woodberry was arrested in Dubai on June 10, 2020, along with his partner-in-crime, Ramon Hushpuppi Abbas, by the Dubai police and the FBI. The duo were extradited to the United States to face charges of wire fraud.

Prosecutors outlined their operations in tricking an unnamed Chicago company to send them wire transfers totalling $15.2 million as well as companies based in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New York and California.

In April 2023, Mr Woodberry pleaded guilty to the charges in a plea deal with the prosecutors. He was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison and ordered to pay $8 million in restitution to the victims. He will also be deported to Nigeria after serving his sentence.

On July 11th 2023, Judge Robert Gettleman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago sentenced Woodberry to 8 years in jail.

“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,” Justice Gettleman said.

In his hey days, Woodberry often posted pictures and videos of himself posing with different luxury cars, designer clothes, shoes, watches, houses and many other signs of wealth.

The Nigerian also travelled to various exotic destinations and shared his experiences with his followers, often thanking God for blessing him with so much untold wealth.

Some years back whilst his mother celebrated her birthday, Woodberry posted a picture of a white Range Rover car and wrote: “Happy birthday mum, I want you to know that I am nothing without you but I can be everything if you are by my side. I owe you for what I have become today. You are the most special person in my life.”

In more extravagant behaviour, Woodberry marked his birthday by writing: “You deserve to enjoy what you work for. Don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for the money you have gathered, especially if it’s your blood, sweat and tears you used to gather the wealth.”

Not surprisingly, it turned out all this wealth he didn’t want to feel guilty for was actually stolen and has now left him guilty as charged in U.S. federal court!

During his extravagant days, Mr Woodberry had a signature style of wearing two wristwatches at the same time.

Hushpuppi

Mr Woodberry was an ally and close business associate with Hushpuppi.

Hushpuppi, Woodberry and 10 others were arrested in an operation tagged ‘Fox Hunt’ after they were accused of “committing crimes outside the UAE, including money-laundering, cyber fraud, hacking, criminal impersonating, scamming individuals, banking fraud and identity theft.

Director of Dubai CID, Brigadier Jamal Salem Al Jallaf, said the raid that led to the arrest resulted in the confiscation of incriminating documents of a planned fraud on a global scale worth $435 million.

On November 8th 2022, was sentenced in Los Angeles to more than 11 years in federal prison, according to Al Jazeera.

Ramon Abbas, 40, was also ordered by a federal judge to pay $1.7m in restitution to two fraud victims, according to a statement from the United States Department of Justice.

His crimes included laundering money from various online crimes including bank cyberheists and business email compromise, or BEC, a prolific crime in which crooks hack into email accounts, pretend to be someone they’re not, and fool victims into wiring money where it doesn’t belong.

In 2019, he helped launder some $14.7m stolen by North Korean hackers from a bank in Malta, funnelling the money through banks in Romania and Bulgaria, prosecutors said.

He also helped launder millions of pounds stolen from a British company and a professional football club in the United Kingdom, got a New York-based law firm to transfer nearly $923,000 to a criminal account, and acknowledged in a plea agreement that he helped defraud someone in Qatar who sought a $15m loan to build a school, federal prosecutors said.

Woodberry Instagram

Prior to his arrest, Woodberry flaunted his ill-gotten wealth on an almost daily basis on his Instagram account.

Mr Woodberry is on Instagram at mrwoodbery

The account is inactive but the majority of his old posts flaunting wealth are still available to be seen.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @mrwoodbery

Mr Woodberry Net Worth

Prior to his arrest, Woodberry net worth was estimated at $50 million. He owned several luxury cars worth millions of dollars and many other luxury accessories including wristwatches and other expensive designer jewelry.

After his conviction and restitution order, his net worth has completely plummeted. U.S authorities seized majority of his assets and Woodberry has also been ordered to pay back over $8m he stole from his victims.

Woodberry Sentence

In July 2023, a federal judge in the United States sentenced Jacob Olalekan Ponle, or Mr Woodberry, to eight years and three months in prison for his coordination of a multimillion-dollar fraud.

Woodberry was sentenced on July 11 by Judge Robert Gettleman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.

“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,” Justice Gettleman said.

Woodberry was sentenced after being convicted on one count of fraud whilst seven other counts were dismissed following a plea bargain he struck with prosecutors in April.

Justice Gettleman ordered the Nigerian to submit himself to the U.S. Marshal Service for onward transfer to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, where his family members, especially his American fiancée, would be allowed to visit him.

Woodberry will also be “surrendered to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for deportation immediately following his incarceration”, the judge said.

As part of the plea bargain and sentence, Woodberry is expected to pay back seven victims about $8 million in restitution.

Prosecutors will also sell Woodberry’s 152 bitcoins, but only after a 30 days’ notice had been issued to the public for anyone with interest in the assets to file claims.

Assets that Mr Woodberry is expected to forfeit include one Rolls Royce, Lamborghini Urus, Mercedes-Benz G-Class AMG G55, four Rolex watches, one Patek Philippe watch, and three Audemars Piguet watches.

Also, he is to forfeit three gold and diamond-studded rings, five gold bracelets and two gold bracelet keys, six gold neck chains, one gold and diamond-studded necklace, one small gold nugget, two bank cards, about $1,835 in Emirati dirhams, and approximately $15.45 in South African rands.

Plea Deal

Prior to his sentencing, we reported on Woodberry pleading guilty to wire fraud charges in the United States of America.

According to the People’s Gazette, “Notorious Internet fraudster, Olalekan Jacob Ponle, alias Mr Woodberry, has entered a plea of guilt with the U.S. authorities, agreeing to surrender $8 million in proceeds of wire fraud as well as luxury cars and watches to the foreign government.

Mr Woodberry, who loved to flaunt his lavish lifestyle on Instagram, had at first pleaded not guilty to the eight-count fraud charge brought against him for engaging in a scheme known as business email compromise (BEC).

However, a plea declaration submitted at the United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division on April 6 revealed Mr Woodberry had had a rethink and is now pleading guilty to count one of the indictments.

According to his plea agreement, he was required to repay the $8 million he fraudulently received from the seven companies that fell for his scam.

“Defendant understands that by pleading guilty, he will subject to forfeiture to the United States all right, title, and interest that he has in any property constituting or derived from proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of the offence,” stated the document containing Mr Ponle’s signed plea declaration.

Mr Ponle was also asked to waive his rights to the luxury cars, and designer watches he had stashed in Dubai.

The high-end automobiles include Rolls Royce Cullinan with vehicle no J9153, Lamborghini Urus (N4973) and Mercedes-Benz G-class (G68816).

Other items seized are four Rolex watches, one Patek Philippe watch, three Audemars Piguet watches, three gold and diamond-studded earrings, and six gold neck chains.

Last year, he had forfeited 151.8 Bitcoin, roughly $6 million, to the American government, determined to recover all stolen monies from the Nigerian fraudster.

Mr Ponle was arrested in Dubai on June 10, 2020, alongside Ramon Hushpuppi Abbas, currently serving an 11-year sentence for a similar fraud charge.“

Early Release

In July 2020, charges against Mr Woodberry were dismissed by a U.S. District Court in Illinois, raising questions over whether he would be released.

As the fraud case against him was proceeding, the U.S government applied for a motion of dismissal without prejudice and it was granted by the presiding Judge, Robert W. Gettleman.

When a case is dismissed with prejudice, it is over and done with, once and for all, and cannot be brought back to court.

On the other hand, when it is dismissed without prejudice, as in the case of Mr Ponle, the dismissal is temporary as the prosecutor can refile such within a certain period of time.

There could have been any number of reasons for the withdrawal of charges such as insufficiency of evidence or inclusion of superfluous details however it did not mean Woodberry would be released.

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Source: Nigeriabombshell.com

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