Accused of orchestrating a rug pull with his NFT collection Mutant Ape Planet, the son of footballer Coco Michel acknowledged his guilty in front of a American court.
Stopped at the beginning of the year, Aurélien Michel appeared in court this week in Brooklyn, New York, charged with fraud.
The 24-year-old French citizen and resident of the United Arab Emirates was being prosecuted for his alleged involvement in a rug pull, or exit scam, with an NFT collection named Mutant Ape Planet.
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Launched on Ethereum, the token collection’s name was also confusing investors with Yuga Labs’ popular Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection.
On Tuesday, Aurélien Michel pleaded guilty before Judge Vera M. Scanlon, announced the U.S. Department of Justice. The son of soccer legend Coco Michel faces up to 5 years in prison and a $1.4 million fine.
Aurelien Michel seduced investors with the promise of capitalizing on the NFT trend, only to abandon the project after raising nearly $3 million in what is described as a rug pull,” said Ivan J. Arvelo, special agent HSI New York.
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