According to the indictment published on January 4, 2023, Aurélien Michel is suspected of having hatched a huge scam to NFTs (the now famous non-fungible tokens). The 24-year-old Frenchman was arrested in New York, where he will be tried for a fraud worth almost 3 million euros.
A 24-year-old Frenchman arrested by American justice
Just a few days ago, in the stands of the Lusail stadium on the occasion of the World Cup final, Aurélien Michel certainly did not imagine that he would be arrested by the American authorities for fraud. On January 4, 2023, back in New York, the Frenchman was arrested by the police. The American authorities are convinced that the 24-year-old is at the head of a vast NFT scam whose total loot is estimated at almost 3 million euros.
According to the indictment co-signed by James R. Cho, American magistrate of the District of New York, and Kayla Blades, special agent belonging to the United States Department of Internal Security (Homeland Security Investigations), Aurélien Michel would be “ the main administrator of the Mutant Ape Planet project “. With his company, the son of former footballer En Avant de Guingamp, Claude Michel, is accused of plagiarizing a series of virtual images known monkeys: ” Mutant Ape Boat Club ».
As part of this scam, the Breton promised his customers juicy benefits and great prizes. Second The worldhe also assured them “ that the value of their virtual images would explode thanks to a massive online marketing campaign “. Actually, it was completely wrong. Prosecutors state in the indictment: that after raising several million dollars in cryptocurrencies, the creators of the project closed up shop Within minutes, the Discord channel was shut down, as was the website.
An unfortunate fate for a young Frenchman who had a future ahead of him. Before getting into cryptocurrencies, the Frenchman had started playing soccer, just like his father. In the 2010s, he also played for various clubs in Brittany. It was in 2017 that his career changed. On this date, she announced that he wanted start business projects “. In just a few years, he founded several companies and made a fortune. According to his lawyer, the young Frenchman has “ he applied for parole on bail ».
