The U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday it had arrested and filed criminal charges against the founder of an NFT project it alleges “rug pulled” holders and defrauded them of $2.9 million in cryptocurrency. Aurelien Michel, 24, the founder of Ethereum NFT collection Mutant Ape Planet, was arrested last night at JFK airport in New York City by federal authorities on wire fraud charges. Michel, a French citizen, resides in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The move constitutes the third time federal prosecutors have pursued charges against orchestrators of so-called NFT rug pulls—schemes where an NFT project’s creators sell NFTs on false promises of community benefits, utility, and financial perks, only to abandon the project and make away with investors’ funds. In this case, the DOJ alleges that Michel promised Mutant Ape Planet NFT holders giveaways, tokens with staking features, and merchandise collections, but followed through on none of those commitments and instead pocketed almost $3 million.
Full story : DOJ Files Charges Against Alleged Mutant Ape Planet NFT Rug Pull.
