Three Britons Accused of Evolved Apes NFT Fraud
Date: 2024-06-10 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
New York authorities have charged three British citizens in connection with a scam involving the Evolved Apes NFT collection. The culprits embezzled 798 ETH of client funds, which is almost $3 million. If found guilty, each of them faces up to 20 years in prison.
Accusations and Participants
New York prosecutors charge Mohamed-Amin Atcha, Mohamed Rilaz Waleed and Daoud Hasan with fraud and money laundering. These three men are the creators of the NFT project Evolved Apes, which launched in 2021. According to the prosecution, they organized a scheme called "rug pull", attracting investors with promises of significant increases in prices for digital works of art.
Fraud and Money Laundering
Evolved Apes was a collection of 10,000 monkey NFTs. The creators promised further development of the project, including the release of the game, which was supposed to increase the value of the tokens. However, instead, the defendants embezzled investor funds and failed to fulfill their promises.
The project collected 798 ETH in just a week after the announcement, which amounted to about $3 million at that time. These funds were misappropriated and laundered through numerous cryptocurrency transactions into the personal accounts of the defendants. In addition to this, the scammers have deleted all official Evolved Apes channels, including the website and social media accounts, to cover their tracks.
Potential Penalties
The three Britons face up to 20 years in prison on each count. New York prosecutors said such harsh penalties are necessary to prevent similar crimes in the future and to protect investors.
This is not the first time there has been a major NFT scam. In 2023, actress Lana Rhoades also defrauded investors who invested in her project in the amount of $1.6 million. Incidents like these highlight the importance of thorough project vetting and transparency in the cryptocurrency and NFT industry.
The case of Evolved Apes is a prime example of the risks associated with investing in NFTs and cryptocurrencies. He stresses the need for stricter regulation and oversight of such projects to protect investors and prevent fraud.
