Nikolas Sargeant
Announced Thursday, the court charged Mohamed-Amin Atcha, Mohamed Rilaz Waleedh, and Daood Hassan for their involvement in the rugpull. They allegedly defrauded victims into purchasing NFTs.
The “Evolved Apes” collection on the OpenSea marketplace consisted of 10,000 digital collectibles, promising the development of a highly profitable video game. However, the creation of the video game was a scam and never generated any profits.
The perpetrators quickly shut down the project’s website and kept the funds without developing the game, according to court documents. They further laundered the misappropriated funds using multiple cryptocurrencies.
“As alleged, the defendants ran a scam to drive up the price of digital artwork through false promises about developing a video game,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. “They allegedly took investor funds, never developed the game, and pocketed the proceeds.”
In October 2023, the developers of the Evolved Apes project disappeared with $2.9 million, the equivalent of 798 ETH at that time. The three defendants orchestrated a pump-and-dump scheme, later transferring the fraudulent proceeds to their personal accounts.
FBI Takes Action Against Evolved Apes NFT Fraud
Attorney Williams emphasized that despite NFTs being new, such scams still fall under traditional money laundering laws. He assured that those responsible for the fraud would “be held accountable.”
“As we allege, thousands of people believed these false promises and were tricked into buying these NFTs, including here in the Southern District of New York,” he added.
Each of the defendants faces one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been actively gathering information on the case. “The FBI remains committed to pursuing those who perpetrate fraudulent schemes out of a selfish desire for a quick profit,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge James Smith.
