Hushpuppi's ally, Woodberry sentenced to eight years imprisonment in US

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago has sentenced Olalekan Jacob Ponle who is widely known as Mr. Woodberry, to eight years and three months in prison for multimillion-dollar fraud.

Woodberry was found guilty by federal judge Robert Gettleman on Tuesday, July 11.

According to court records, Mr Woodberry will be deported to Nigeria after serving his term.

Gettleman said: “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.”

Mr. Woodberry was sentenced after he was found guilty of one count of fraud. Seven other offenses were dropped as part of a plea agreement which was made in April of this year, 2023.

Mr. Woodberry was also required by the judge to turn himself in to the U.S. Marshal Service in order to be transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, where he would be permitted visits from family members, particularly his American fiancée.

Additionally, Gettlemen mandated that Woodberry be "surrendered to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for deportation immediately following his incarceration".

Recall that Woodberry reached a plea agreement with the US and agreed to hand over $8 million in wire fraud proceeds.

He also consented to hand over his expensive automobiles and timepieces to the foreign government.

The Instagram "big boy" was detained in the United Arab Emirates in June 2020, and after his extradition to the US, he was charged with wire fraud conspiracy.

A million dollar worth of wire transfers were allegedly sent by American businesses under the influence of Woodberry.

Prosecutors claim that Woodberry chose to target businesses in California, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, and New York.

The socialite, who works with infamous fraudster Hushpuppi, had entered a not guilty plea to the eight counts against him the year before his arrest.