The developer of the Mutant Ape Yacht Club knockoff series allegedly defrauded investors of $2.9 million and has admitted to participating in the scam.
The developer of the Mutant Ape Planet non-fungible token (NFT) series, a knockoff of the popular Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT series, has been arrested and charged with fraud for allegedly defrauding $2.9 million.
Aurelien Michel, a 24-year-old French citizen living in the United Arab Emirates, was taken into custody after landing at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on Wednesday night.
According to the complaint, filed Jan. 3, Michele and other unnamed defendants marketed the Mutant Ape Planet NFT to potential buyers, promising them benefits from the purchase, including “rewards, sweepstakes, interest in other crypto assets, exclusive access to The community wallet contains funds for marketing NFT.” According to the official statement, the project developer also vaguely promised to acquire “metaverse land” for the NFT project.
However, none of Michelle's promises came true. When all the NFTs were sold, Michelle and other unnamed defendants allegedly moved the proceeds of nearly $3 million to other wallets, including wallets under Michelle’s control.
When Mutant Ape Planet buyers became suspicious of the transfers, authorities said Michelle posted under the pseudonym "James" acknowledging her involvement in the community's Discord channel.
“We never intended to rug but the community went way too toxic,” the developer posting as “James” wrote. “I recognize that our behavior led to this…
“It’s alleged that Michel defrauded investors by making false representations of, amongst other things, giveaways, tokens with staking features, and merchandise collections,” Thomas Fattorusso, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigations Team, wrote.
“Michel can no longer blame the NFT community for his criminal behavior. His arrest means he will now face the consequences of his own actions,” Fatoruso said. Michelle's first court appearance before U.S. District Judge James Cho in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
