Hushpuppi: U.S. Court Dismisses Case Against Mr Woodberry Without Prejudice

A court in the United States has dismissed the case against Nigeria’s Olalekan ‘Woodberry’ Ponle who was accused of multi-million dollar computer and wire fraud.

Mr Ponle, commonly called Woodberry, was arrested alongside Ramon Abbas AKA Hushpuppi in the United Arab Emirate on June 10, 2020, for multiple fraud charges, after months of undercover investigations by the Dubai Police and the FBI.

Following their arrest, Hushpuppi and Woodberry were extradited to the United States on July 2, 2020.

Based on the complaint filed against Mr Woodberry, an unnamed Chicago company was tricked into sending wire transfers amounting to $15.2 million.

Prosecutors added that other companies based in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New York and California also were victims of the alleged fraud.

According to reports, 29-year-old Woodberry was facing charges of wire fraud conspiracy at a United States District Court in Illinois.

A report by a grand jury had indicted him in potential criminal conduct, summing up the allegations against him to an eight-count charge of wire fraud.

These crimes violate section 1343 of the United States Codes.

Case Against Woodberry Dismissed

The government of the United States,  on Monday, July 20, filed a motion through its attorney, John R. Lausch, requesting that the case against Mr Ponle be dismissed without prejudice.

Mr Lausch stated:

“Counsel for the government has spoken with counsel for the defendant and defendant’s counsel has no objection to this motion.

“Respectfully submitted.”

According to the Attorney, this is in pursuant with Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 48, which states that the government may, with leave of court, dismiss an indictment, information, or complaint.

A court order issued by Judge Robert W. Gettleman on Tuesday said the government’s motion to dismiss the complaint without prejudice was granted.

“Without objection, the complaint against defendant Ponle is dismissed without prejudice. Motion presentment hearing set for 7/23/2020 is stricken,” Mr Gettleman ruled.

In Law, when a case is dismissed with prejudice, the case cannot be brought back to the courts. However, in the case of Woodberry, whose case has been dismissed without prejudice, the dismissal is only temporal as the prosecutors could file the case again after a certain time frame.

Cases can be dismissed if there is the unavailability of sufficient evidence, an improper criminal complaint or charging document, to loss of evidence necessary to prove a crime.

Mr Woodberry, however, has not released from detention, yet.