Three notorious Nigerian internet fraudsters, renowned for their significant social media and political influence, are currently serving their sentences at the same prison facility in the United StatesSA. Bidemi Rufai is scheduled for release on Valentine’s Day in 2025.
Ray ‘Hushpuppi’ Abbas, 41, Jacob Olalekan Ponle, also known as Mr. Woodberry, 33, and Bidemi Rufai, 46, are all being held at Fort Dix, a low-security prison near Joint Base McGuire in Burlington County, New Jersey. They are expected to complete the remainder of their sentences there.
Mr. Rufai, a close ally of Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, was arrested in May 2021 at John F. Kennedy Airport while attempting to flee the USA to Nigeria on a Royal Dutch ticket. FBI Special Agent Heidi Hawkins coordinated the arrest of Bidemi Rufai after uncovering a scheme in which Rufai stole the identities of thousands of U.S. citizens to claim COVID-19 benefits amounting to nearly half a million dollars. He used the stolen funds to purchase luxury cars and watches to support his extravagant lifestyle.
Rufai pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to five years in prison. The USA government ordered him to pay $604,000 in restitution to the scam’s victims, primarily government institutions such as the Washington Employment Security Department ($350,763), Arkansas Division of Workforce Services ($10,166), Maine Department of Labor ($8,205), and Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency ($44,216), among others.
Mr. Rufai, inmate number 83912-053, was transferred from a facility outside Seattle, Washington, to Fort Dix in Burlington County ahead of his scheduled release on Valentine’s Day in 2025. His accomplice, Mr. Woodberry, was also moved from the notorious Danbury Correctional Center in Connecticut to Fort Dix. Mr. Woodberry, 33, with inmate number 54314-424, is set for release on October 17, 2027, after which he will be deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).