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ARTICLE · 19 JANUARY 2023

DOJ Enforcement: NFT Rug Pull, Insider Trading, Crypto Fraud And Theft

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The U.S. Department of Justice published four recent press releases related to cryptocurrency enforcement actions.

United StatesTechnology
Teresa Goody Guillén
Teresa Goody Guillén
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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published four recent press releases related to cryptocurrency enforcement actions. According to one of the press releases, the developer of "Mutant Ape Planet" NFTs, who is a French national residing in the United Arab Emirates, has been charged with a $2.9 million fraud scheme. The press release alleges that the developer executed a "rug pull," which is similar to a "pump and dump" scheme in which the developer made false representations of the benefits of the NFTs and, once all the NFTs were bought, stopped communicating with purchasers, withdrew the purchasers' funds from the company's cryptocurrency wallets, and used the funds for his personal use.

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