The founder of the Planet of the Apes NFT project faces up to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty.

For the first time in U.S. history, the architect of an NFT scheme called the “rug pull” has been found guilty of federal crimes and could soon go to jail.

Aurelien Michel, the 25-year-old founder of the ill-fated Mutant Ape Planet NFT series, pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday. He is accused of conspiring to commit wire fraud in defrauding Mutant Ape NFT holders of nearly $3 million.

Michel now faces up to five years in federal prison and agreed to pay a $1.4 million forfeiture fine, according to the Justice Department.

When Michel was arrested at New York's JFK Airport in January, his NFT project became the third to be accused by federal authorities of conducting a "rug pull" scheme, in which an NFT project's creator sells NFTs, utilities, and Financial advantage, only to abandon the project and abscond with existing funds.

According to federal prosecutors, Michel, a French citizen who had been living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before his arrest, explicitly told Planet of the Apes operators that he had, in fact, rug pull from them. Pull the rug").

“We never intended to do this, but the community has become too toxic,” Michel told Mutant Ape buyers after failing to deliver on his previous promises of freebies, merchandise collections, and staking tokens as NFT collection benefits. said.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement: "Michel pleaded guilty today to conspiring with others to defraud consumers eager to participate in new digital asset markets. Our office is fully aware that criminals are taking advantage of the stability in the digital asset space. The pace of innovation and the desire of the investing public to participate in cryptocurrencies allows for large-scale fraud to be perpetrated."

Days after Michel’s arrest, on-chain analysts presented evidence linking the recently convicted businessman to two other major NFT scams: Fashion Ape NFT (which netted holders $1.1 million before disappearing) USD) and Crazy Camels (who made $1.6 million before doing the same thing). Michel has not been charged in connection with either project.

Prior to Michel's arrest, two NFT rug pull cases alleged by federal prosecutors; the first against the creator of the Frosties NFT project and the second against the founder of the Baller Ape Club NFT series, appear to have remained unresolved. Reporters contacted the Justice Department about both cases but have not yet received a response.

Federal authorities arrested the two 20-year-old founders of Frosties last March and the founder of Baller Ape Club last June. The charges allege that the projects defrauded investors of $1.1 million and $2.6 million, respectively. #NFT #联邦监狱