Creator of Mutant Ape ripoff NFTs pleads guilty to $3M fraud scheme
The creator of the Mutant Ape Planet nonfungible token (NFT) collection — a knockoff of Yuga Labs' Mutant Ape Yacht Club project — pleaded guilty in New York federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
In the year In a November 14 statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said Frenchman Aurelien Michel pleaded guilty to “running a racket” and defrauding investors out of $3 million in connection with the fraudulent Mutant Ape Planet NFTs. .
The developer of the Nullable Token (NFT) has pleaded guilty to a global scheme to defraud NFT buyers.
Aurelyn Michel from “Mutant Ape Planet” for conspiring to steal NFTs from buyers through false promises and representations @HSINewYork @IRSCI_NY https://t.co/K3CzIb8dQD
— US Attorney EDNY (@EDNYnews) November 14, 2023
According to Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors, Michel and his co-conspirators marketed NFTs to investors with false promises of rewards and benefits designed to increase interest in the collection.
Prosecutors said Michel and his associates “deliberately failed to deliver on these promises, spending millions for their own personal gain.”
Thomas M. Fattorso, Special Agent in Charge of the New York IRS Criminal Investigation, said: “Despite Michelle's claims that he would sell Dream NFTs backed by rewards and benefits, he defrauded investors and turned their dreams into a nightmare of fraud and loss.
“There is no excuse for this kind of greed, and today's guilty plea brings Michel one step closer to realizing his own nightmare – behind bars.
Michel was arrested in New York on January 4, 2023, on charges related to the scheme. The DOJ said on Jan. 5 that Michel had pulled the rug for the NFT crowdfunding community in a social media conversation, saying, “We never intended to rip it off, but the community became very toxic.”
At sentencing, Michel faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and agreed to pay $1.4 million in restitution.
Related: Cryptoqueen's OneCoin Legal Head Pleads Guilty to Fraud
The Mutant Ape Planet collection – removed from NFT platform OpenSea – includes 6,797 NFTs that were once integrated on the Ethereum blockchain.
In the year A sale volume of over 320 Ether (ETH) was discussed in February 2022, which decreased significantly in April 2022, two months later.
By January 2023, when Michelle was hired, the collection's average price and total sales volume were close to zero.
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