Seller of Mutant Ape Planet NFTs Allegedly Scammed Victims Out of $2.9M in Crypto
US prosecutors have accused a Frenchman of defrauding buyers of his non-fungible tokens Mutant Ape Planet.
Aurelien Michel, 24, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, falsely promised exclusive rewards and benefits to buyers of the NFTs, which he claimed were aimed at increasing demand for the unique images and increasing their value, US said Attorney Breon Peace in Brooklyn, New York, said in a statement Thursday.
“After buyers sent their cryptocurrency and received the NFT, they received nothing while their cryptocurrency was diverted from NFT project Mutant Ape Planet to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by Michel,” Peace said.
Michel sought to capitalize on the broader monkey-themed NFT trend in 2022 by offering 9,999 images of mutant monkeys minted from February 4th. The NFTs sold on the Ethereum blockchain cost about $468 each when the collection was launched, at the price of ether at the time, the US said.
Michel was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance before U.S. Judge James R. Cho later Thursday. His defense attorney was not listed on the file.
In social media chats with current and potential NFT buyers, Michel allegedly admitted to a fraudulent “rug-pull” scheme but sought to blame the NFT community for his actions, saying, “We never intended to.” to throw carpet, but the community got way too toxic,” prosecutors said.
“Michel can no longer blame the NFT community for his criminal behavior,” Thomas Fattorusso, acting special agent for the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, said in the statement. “His arrest means he must now face the consequences of his own actions.”
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