According to Foresight News, Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have unsealed charges against three UK citizens. The individuals, named Mohamed-Amin Atcha, Mohamed Rilaz Waleedh, and Daood Hassan, are accused of conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering. The charges stem from the defendants' alleged plan to deceive victims into purchasing digital artwork from the NFT series called 'Evolved Apes'. The case has been handed over to U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken.
James Smith stated that the defendants are suspected of participating in a scheme to inflate the price of NFTs by falsely claiming to the public that they were developing a related video game, and then secretly transferring the fraudulent proceeds to their personal accounts.