NFTs
Evolved Apes NFT Exposed: Creators Accused of Fraud
A fraudulent scheme involving the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) known as the Evolved Apes collection has been exposed, leaving investors at a loss.
Today @SDNYLIVE accusing MOHAMED-AMIN ATCHA, MOHAMED RILAZ WALEEDH and DAOOD HASSAN, all UK citizens, of scheme to defraud victims into purchasing digital works of art known as the “Evolved Apes” non-fungible token collection pic.twitter.com/BWAEBGJYCU
-Inner City Press (@innercitypress) June 6, 2024
The creators, Mohamed-Amin Atcha, Mohamed Rilaz Waleedh and Daood Hassan, all UK citizens, are facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. The trio reportedly promised to develop a video game related to the NFT collection, but disappeared with investors’ funds after a week in what is known as a carpetbagger.
The charges allege that Atcha, Waleedh, and Hassan organized a classic rug-pulling scam where they advertised the Evolved Apes NFT project, collected funds from buyers under the promise of developing a video game, and then disappeared with the funds.
The scheme sold digital images of cartoon monkeys as NFTs, to use the profits to improve the video game as planned. However, after raising substantial sums from buyers, including in the Southern District of New York, the defendants closed the project website and kept the funds without fulfilling their promises.
Despite the disappearance of the creators and the unveiling of the fraudulent scheme, trading of Evolved Apes NFTs on platforms like OpenSea continued.
Subsequently, a new project called Fight Back Apes emerged, started by the affected community. Unlike Evolved Apes, Fight Back Apes operates with a multi-signature wallet to ensure transparency and prevent similar incidents in the future.
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