Founder of Mutant Ape Planet NFT Collection Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Charges in Rug Pull Scheme.

French national Aurelien Michel, the creator of the fraudulent Mutant Ape Planet NFT collection, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The scheme involved defrauding investors out of $3 million through a “rug pull,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Michel and his co-conspirators marketed the NFTs by making false promises of rewards and benefits to investors, aimed at driving up demand for the collection. However, they intentionally failed to deliver on these promises, diverting millions of dollars for their personal gain.

Thomas M. Fattorusso, the special agent in charge of IRS criminal investigation in New York, expressed outrage over Michel’s actions, stating, “While Michel purported to sell dream NFTs backed with rewards and benefits, he defrauded investors, turning their dream into a nightmare of deception and losses.”

Michel was arrested in New York on January 4, 2023, and subsequently admitted to the rug pull in a social media chat with the NFT collection’s community. He stated, “we never intended to rug but the community went way too toxic.”

Upon sentencing, Michel could face a maximum prison term of five years. He has also agreed to pay $1.4 million in restitution to the defrauded investors.

The Mutant Ape Planet collection, which was hosted on the NFT platform OpenSea, consisted of 6,797 NFTs minted on the Ethereum blockchain. In February 2022, it recorded over 320 Ether in sales volume. However, by April 2022, the sales volume had plummeted. By the time of Michel’s arrest in January 2023, the collection’s average price and total sales had dropped close to zero.

The fraudulent Mutant Ape Planet NFTs have since been removed from OpenSea. The guilty plea from Michel serves as a significant step in bringing him to justice for his role in the fraud scheme..