Olalekan Ponle, popularly known as Woodberry, has been sentenced to eight years in jail by a United States district court for his involvement in fraud. Woodberry, an associate of Ramon Abbas, also known as Hushpuppi, was extradited from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to the United States for separate trials.
Initially, Hushpuppi denied all charges but later changed his plea and received an 11-year prison sentence. Similarly, Woodberry maintained his innocence for over two years before ultimately entering a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud during a change of plea hearing in April at the US District Court for Northern Illinois.
Judge Robert Gettleman accepted Woodberry’s change of plea and ordered him to be imprisoned for a total term of 100 months. Following his incarceration, Woodberry will be handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for deportation. Additionally, Woodberry has been ordered to pay approximately $8 million in restitution to seven of his victims.