The U.S. Department of Justice has laid charges against three UK nationals for their involvement in a sophisticated $3 million scam surrounding the ‘Evolved Apes’ NFT collection.
The trio, identified as Mohamed-Amin Atcha, Mohamed Rilaz Waleedh, and Daood Hassan, stand accused of wire fraud and money laundering in a classic pump-and-dump scheme that has robbed thousands of their assets.
The ‘Evolved Apes’ NFT project, which initially promised a fighting game featuring the titular apes, quickly turned into a cautionary tale of the dark side of crypto. Investors were lured with the promise of a future video game and the potential for rising NFT values.
According to the US Department of Justice,
In the fall of 2021, ATCHA, WALEEDH, and HASSAN executed a type of scam commonly known as a “rug pull,” where developers advertise a digital project, collect funds from purchasers, then abandon the project and keep the funds. ATCHA, WALEEDH, and HASSAN allegedly created and promoted an NFT project called “Evolved Apes” that involved the marketing of digital images of cartoon apes.
However, the project’s developer, known pseudonymously as ‘Evil Ape,’ vanished within a week of the initial offering, along with 798 Ether, leaving investors with nothing but worthless digital tokens and a profound sense of betrayal.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams commented on the case, stating, “The defendants allegedly engaged in a calculated scheme, manipulating the value of digital artwork through false promises.”
He further emphasized that the defendants are accused of pocketing investor funds without any intention of developing the promised game, highlighting that “making false claims to obtain money from investors is a crime, regardless of whether the currency is digital or not”.
In the aftermath of the scandal, the ‘Evolved Apes’ community has been left to pick up the pieces. Spearheaded by community members Mike Cryptobull and Josh CryptoBull, a new initiative called ‘Fight Back Apes‘ has been launched to salvage the situation.
This new project seeks to dissociate from the original developer’s control and prevent them from receiving any future royalties from the sales of ‘Evolved Apes’ NFTs.
To become transparent to their community, ‘Fight Back Apes‘ will make use of a multi-signature wallet, ensuring no single individual can repeat the same fraudulent actions.
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