Developer of the Mutant Ape Planet NFT collection charged with fraud for alleged US$2.9M

A $2.9 million rug pull is reported to have been carried out by the creator of the Mutant Ape Planet Non-Fungible Token (NFT) collection, which is a rip-off of the well-known Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT collection.

A 24-year-old French national named Aurelien Michel, who resides in the United Arab Emirates, was apprehended on Wednesday night after touching down at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. To sell the Mutant Ape Planet NFTs, Michel and other unidentified defendants, according to the complaint filed on January 3, promised potential customers rewards, raffles, exclusive access to other cryptocurrency assets, and support for a community wallet with funds to be used to market the NFTs. Authorities claim that project developers made ambiguous claims about securing "metaverse land" for the NFT project.

Michel made several promises, but none of them materialized. Michel and the other unidentified defendants reportedly moved the roughly $3 million in profits to other wallets, including wallets under Michel's control, after all the NFTs had been sold. Investigators claim that Michel acknowledged the rug pull in the community's Discord channel after the Mutant Ape Planet customers got suspicious of the transfers. Michel was posting under the alias "James," according to the authorities.

The developer writing under the name "James" claimed, "We never planned to rug but the community grew much too hostile." I acknowledge that our actions caused this.

Thomas Fattorusso, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge with the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation division, wrote: "It is alleged that Michel misled investors by making false statements of, among other things, giveaways, tokens with staking capabilities, and goods collections."

"Michel can no longer attribute his illegal actions to the NFT community. He will now have to deal with the results of his conduct as a result of his arrest, Fattorusso added.

On Thursday in the late afternoon, Michel will make his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Cho of the Eastern District of New York (EDNY).