Evolved Apes

The nearly 10,000-strong NFT collection is still listed on OpenSea, but its floor price is a measly $7.60.

Three British nationals tied to the “Evolved Apes” nonfungible token “rug pull” scam have been charged in the United States for conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

The defendants, Mohamed-Amin Atcha, Mohamed Rilaz Waleedh and Daood Hassan, allegedly drove up the prices of 10,000 NFTs on false promises that they would develop a video game before transferring the funds out and abandoning the project, the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York said in a June 6 statement.

“Digital art may be new, but old rules still apply: making false promises for money is illegal [...] NFT fraud is no game, and those responsible will be held accountable,” iterated U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

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