The
developer
behind
the
Mutant
Ape
Planet
non-fungible
token
(NFT)
collection
–
a
knockoff
of
the
Mutant
Ape
Yacht
Club
NFTs
–
pleaded
guilty
on
Tuesday
to
defrauding
buyers
in
a
rug
pull
that
netted
almost
$3
million,
according
to
the
U.S.
Department
of
Justice
(DOJ).
Aurelien
Michel,
a
French
citizen
who
lived
in
the
United
Arab
Emirates,
was
arrested
earlier
this
year
in
New
York.
He
faces
up
to
five
years
in
prison
and
has
agreed
to
pay
$1.4
million
in
forfeiture,
according
to
the
U.S.
Attorney
for
the
Eastern
District
of
New
York.
“Our
office
is
acutely
aware
that
criminal
actors
are
taking
advantage
of
the
constant
pace
of
innovation
in
the
digital
asset
space
and
the
investing
public’s
desire
to
become
involved
in
cryptocurrency
to
perpetrate
large-scale
frauds,”
said
U.S.
Attorney
Breon
Peace.
When
the
Mutant
Ape
Planet
buyers
began
realizing
they’d
been
duped
by
the
developers,
authorities
say
that
Michel,
posting
under
the
pseudonym
“James”,
admitted
to
the
rug
pull
in
the
community’s
Discord
channel.
“We
never
intended
to
rug
but
the
community
went
way
too
toxic,”
the
developer
posting
as
“James”
wrote.
“I
recognize
that
our
behavior
led
to
this.”