US Arrests ‘Mutant Ape Planet’ NFT Creator in $3M ‘Rug Pull’ Scheme to Defraud Crypto Investors – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Thursday that Aurelien Michel has been charged with “defrauding purchasers of ‘Mutant Ape Planet’ NFTs, a type of digital asset, of more than $2.9 million in cryptocurrency.” The defendant is a French national residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He was arrested Wednesday at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The Mutant Ape Planet (MAP) NFTs were marketed and sold with false promises of multiple incentives and benefits, such as unique investment possibilities, giveaways, merchandise, and other rewards, according to the DOJ. The digital currency of NFT purchasers was misappropriated for Michel’s own gain.
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Mutant Ape Planet is a collection of 6,799 unique mutant apes unrelated to the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club, a different deck of monkey-themed non-fantasy trading cards. Ivan J. Arvelo, head of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New York, stated: “Aurelien Michel perpetrated a ‘rug pull’ scheme – stealing nearly $3 million from investors for his own personal use.”
The DOJ noted that “in a social media chat with current and prospective purchasers, Michel admitted to the fraudulent ‘rug pull,’ but blamed the community of NFT purchasers for his actions, stating, ‘We never intended to rug but the community went way too toxic.'”
While the Mutant Ape Planet NFT developers “promised to fund a community wallet for marketing, and would offer purchasers raffles, giveaways, airdrops, and tokens with staking features,” the DOJ said: “The purchasers of the Mutant Ape Planet NFTs did not receive any of the promised benefits set out above.”
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