Web3 Watch: SDNY Cracks Down on NFT Rug Pull Scams

The Southern District of New York is at it again with more cryptocurrency-related charges. The US district court, in cooperation with the FBI, unsealed an indictment Thursday against three United Kingdom nationals for an alleged fraudulent NFT scheme.

Mohamed-Amin Atcha, Mohamed Rilaz Waleedh, and Daood Hassan are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the “Evolved Apes” NFT collection.

The trio lied to investors in 2021 about developing a related video game, which, investigators say, never came to fruition, in order to “pump up the price of the NTFs.”

“Ghosting customers without fulfilling a promise not only reflects poor business integrity, it also violates the implicit trust buyers place in sellers when purchasing a product, no matter if that product is in a store or stored on a blockchain,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said in a statement Thursday.

The scheme, which prosecutors described in the indictment as a “rug pull”, allegedly resulted in the defendants making off with more than $2 million.

“Digital art may be new, but old rules still apply: making false promises for money is illegal,” US attorney Damian Williams said.

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