Press Releases News Today TheBitTimes.com

The creator of the Mutant Ape Planet NFT collection pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a New York federal court. In this week’s newsletter, read about the creator of a Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) knock-off pleading guilty to fraud charges, check out how OpenSea’s non-fungible token (NFT) users received a massive phishing email campaign, and how Bitcoin transaction fees flipped Ethereum network fees as the hype for Ordinals resurfaced. In other news, game distributor G2A has launched a gaming-focused NFT marketplace.  Creator of Mutant Ape ripoff NFTs pleads guilty to $3 million fraud scheme Aurelien Michel, the creator of the Mutant Ape Planet NFT collection, which copies the popular MAYC collection by Yuga Labs, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a New York federal court. Michel admitted to defrauding investors of $3 million and performing a rug pull. The team behind the MAYC knock-off falsely promised rewards and benefits to their investors and intentionally failed to deliver on thei...

SafeMoon and executive team members, like Kyle Nagy, were indicted in the Eastern District of New York in connection to an international multi-million dollar fraud scheme. On Nov. 1, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Braden John Karony, Kyle Nagy and Thomas Smith with conspiracy, fraud and money laundering over their involvement in SafeMoon. According to the SEC, the token was offered as unregistered crypto asset securities . The three stand accused of using their roles as founder , CEO, and CTO respectively to inflate SafeMoon toward a $5.7 billion market cap through wash trading, deceptive marketing and misleading statements about liquidity lock-up timelines. Per the SEC complaint, SafeMoon’s executive team promised to take the token “Safe to the moon” while they withdrew $200 million from the project for personal expenses, such as purchasing sports cars and real estate.  SafeMoon’s price exploded by over 55,000% between March and April of 2021, and su...

Police in Israel have officially recommended that controversial hard-partying entrepreneur Moshe Hogeg and seven unnamed partners be charged with defrauding investors out of nearly $300 million in a crypto scam. As reported by Bloomberg, the potential charges, which include fraud, theft, money laundering, forgery, and tax offenses, follow a two-year investigation during which police seized assets, collected 900 pieces of evidence, and questioned 180 witnesses. It’s alleged that Hogeg and his associates took millions of dollars from Israel i and foreign investors on the understanding that the money would be invested in four crypto start-ups. However, they apparently put the funds to their own personal use. Prosecutors will now decide whether to act on the recommendation. Hogeg’s offices hosted drug-fuelled orgies Hogeg was arrested back in 2021 at the offices of Beitar Jerusalem FC, the soccer club he owned until August 2022. The arrest came six months after two of his em...

Brooklyn federal court charged a former investment banker for allegedly taking investors’ money under the pretext of making profitable crypto investments. The federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charged a former investment banker and registered broker for alleged ly defraud ing numerous investors by promising profits on fake crypto currency Investments and misappropriating the funds received to finance his lifestyle.  Documents with the court claim the defendant, Rashawn Russell, misused the growing interest in crypto investments to mislead investors. Russell convinced multiple investors to reinvest their fiat savings into cryptocurrencies, often promising significant or “guaranteed” returns. However, it is alleged that Russell misappropriated the investors’ money to fund his personal lifestyle. Breon Peace, United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, revealed the court’s intent to pursue the case against the former banker : “As alleged, Russell turned the demand...