The Mutant Ape Creator’s Guilty Plea
Aurelien Michel, a French citizen and the mastermind behind the Mutant Ape Planet nonfungible token (NFT) collection, has pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud in a New York court. The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York revealed this unprecedented turn of events in American history.
Michel is responsible for orchestrating a scheme that defrauded investors out of $3 million in connection with the fraudulent Mutant Ape Planet collection. This collection was an illegal imitation of Yuga Labs’ Mutant Ape Yacht Club initiative.
OpenSea Removes Mutant Ape Planet NFTs
OpenSea has removed the Mutant Ape Planet, which consisted of 6,797 NFTs on the Ethereum Mainnet. The fake collection reached its peak in February 2022 but gradually declined until Michel’s arrest in January. In contrast, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) was one of the most successful NFT endeavors in 2021.
The Mutant Ape Yacht Club, a spinoff, enjoyed the benefits of this affiliation. BAYC sold an astounding 276,700 Ethereum (ETH) during that year.
Mitchell Faces 5 Years Behind Bars
Mitchell faces a potential prison sentence of five years and has agreed to make a reparation payment of $1.4 million. He admitted that his initial intent was not to orchestrate a “rug pull,” but community dynamics turned “toxic.”
The market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) was valued at $16 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $212 billion by 2030. Upon being convicted, Michel is subject to this potential prison sentence and restitution payment.
Hot Take: An Unprecedented Turn of Events in NFT History
The guilty plea from Aurelien Michel marks an unprecedented turn of events in NFT history. As the creator behind the fraudulent Mutant Ape Planet collection, Michel now faces federal justice and a potential prison sentence. This case serves as a warning to other NFT creators about the consequences of fraudulent activities within the industry.
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