‘Mutant Ape Planet’ NFT developer arrested in US over fraud

A French national who developed a knock-off of the popular Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT collection has been arrested and charged in the U.S. for allegedly defrauding buyers of nearly US$3 million. 

The creator, Aurelian Michel, is alleged to have “rug pulled” after selling the “Mutant Ape Planet” NFTs to buyers, and diverted more than US$2.9 million for his personal use, the U.S Department of Justice in New York said in a January 5 statement. 

The “Mutant Ape Planet” NFTs have no relationship with the Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection.

A rug pull is a cryptocurrency scam in which a developer attracts investors but pulls out before the project is complete, leaving buyers with a worthless asset as none of the promised benefits were provided. 

Michel, who has been residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in the U.S. on January 4.

“As alleged, Aurelien Michel perpetrated a ‘rug pull’ scheme – stealing nearly US$3 million from investors for his own personal use. Purchasers of Mutant Ape Planet NFTs thought they were investing in a trendy new collectible, but they were deceived and received none of the promised benefits,” said Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New York.

“It’s alleged that Michel defrauded investors by making false representations of, amongst other things, giveaways, tokens with staking features, and merchandise collections.  Once the NFTs were sold-out, Michel allegedly ceased communications and withdrew purchasers’ funds from the company’s cryptocurrency wallets, lining his pockets with nearly US$3 Million of investors’ money,” said Thomas Fattorusso, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation in New York.