A 21-year-old man allegedly took his own life while awaiting sentencing for his involvement in an NFT scam known as a "Rug Pull."
NFT Scam and Conviction
Berman Jerry Nowlin, accused of fraud and money laundering, reportedly died by suicide. In November 2024, Nowlin was found guilty of participating in an NFT scheme that defrauded investors of $400,000. Together with 25-year-old Devin Alan Rhoden, he successfully launched two NFT collections, "Undead Apes" and "Undead Lady Apes," before abruptly canceling a third, "Undead Tombstone."
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the duo attracted investors with false claims, including fabricated partnerships with prominent companies and promises of benefits for NFT holders. After collecting payments, the team deleted their Discord and Twitter accounts, a move classified as a classic "Rug Pull."
Impact on Family and Defense
Nowlin's family revealed that he fell into a deep depression following his conviction. His mother claimed he was an unwitting participant in the scheme and placed the blame on Rhoden.
"In his eyes, I don’t think he believed he did anything wrong," said his brother, Daniel Barker. "My brother was just a young, naive kid who was taken advantage of."
According to Nowlin's lawyer, J. Jervis Wise, Nowlin was merely a technical developer for the project, while Rhoden handled the marketing. "He had no knowledge of the fraudulent plans," Wise stated.
Evidence of Money Laundering
Despite the defense, the Department of Justice presented evidence of Nowlin’s direct involvement. Investigations revealed that he laundered money using "chain-hopping" and illegal cryptocurrency mixers to obscure the movement of funds. These funds were traced directly to his personal bank account.
A Tragic End
Nowlin faced up to five years in federal prison, with sentencing scheduled for January 2025. However, on December 21, 2024, he was found dead at his home in Alabama. The cause of death remains officially unclear, but his family stated it was suicide.
This tragic case highlights the immense pressure and consequences faced by young individuals navigating the challenges of the digital world.

#nft , #Rugpull , #cybercrime , #blockchain , #MoneyLaundering

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In late 2021, scammers turned the global hype around Netflix’s Squid Game into a crypto nightmare. By launching the Squid Game Token (SQUID), they exploited public interest to steal $3.3 million in a textbook rug pull.
🚨 What Happened?
Scammers launched SQUID in October 2021, promising a play-to-earn gaming platform inspired by the hit show.SQUID skyrocketed from pennies to $2,860 within weeks, driven by media buzz and FOMO.On November 1, 2021, the price crashed to zero as the scammers disappeared, leaving investors with nothing.
💡 How They Tricked Investors:
Marketing implied a connection to Netflix and Squid Game, though none existed.Investors could buy but not sell tokens, masked as a game feature requiring additional purchases of “marbles.”FOMO, rising prices, and promises of massive returns kept investors hooked despite clear red flags.
🚩 Missed Warning Signs:
No official tie to Netflix or Squid Game.A poorly designed website with grammatical errors.Restricted selling, a classic rug-pull tactic.
📉 Lessons Learned:
Do Your Homework: Always verify claims of affiliation with major brands or projects.Beware of Selling Restrictions: Tokens you can’t sell are a glaring red flag.Anonymous Teams: Extra scrutiny is crucial when a project’s creators hide their identities.
🛡️ Avoiding Future Scams:
This event is a cautionary tale for all investors. Don’t let cultural excitement cloud your judgment, and always prioritize due diligence over hype.
📢 What Do You Think?
Have scams like this affected your crypto journey? Share your insights in the comments below.
#Cryptoscam #Rugpull #SquidGameToken #TheCoinRepublic #CryptoNews

In a surprising turn of events, the Multichain platform has witnessed a sudden halt in activity, sparking suspicions of a potential hack or rugpull rather than a planned migration. Alarming reports have emerged of multiple bridges being drained, indicating a possible breach in the system's security. However, there is a silver lining as it seems that there is no immediate need to revoke approvals.

https://etherscan.io/tx/0xde3eed5656263b85d43a89f1d2f6af8fde0d93e49f4642053164d773507323f8

The timeline of events paints a concerning picture:

4:21 PM UTC - First Suspicious Transaction: A transaction is sent, raising eyebrows regarding its nature and intent. Link to transaction

6:33 PM UTC - Draining of 30MM WBTC from Multichain Bridge: Disturbingly, a significant amount of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and other assets are withdrawn from the Multichain bridge. Link to transaction

7:06 PM UTC - PeckShield's Warning: Renowned blockchain security firm, PeckShield, tweets about the situation, further fueling concerns among the crypto community. Link to tweet

7:35 PM UTC - LayerZero Denies Involvement: LayerZero, a prominent blockchain infrastructure provider, confirms that they are not directly involved in the suspicious activities, adding another layer of uncertainty to the situation.

7:46 PM UTC - Drainage of Moonriver Bridge: The draining spree expands as the Multichain Moonriver bridge falls victim to the mysterious transactions. Link to transaction

8:05 PM UTC - Draining of Dogechain Bridge: The Multichain Dogechain bridge becomes the next target of the ongoing drainage, deepening concerns about the extent of the breach. Link to transaction

The series of events has left the cryptocurrency community on edge as they await further information about the motives behind these suspicious activities. The draining of multiple bridges suggests a coordinated effort to siphon funds from the Multichain ecosystem.

Despite the gravity of the situation, there is some relief in the fact that approvals do not require immediate revocation. However, it is crucial for users and stakeholders to exercise caution and closely monitor developments surrounding Multichain to safeguard their assets.

As investigations unfold, the Multichain team must work swiftly to identify the root cause of these incidents, enhance security measures, and provide transparent updates to regain the trust of their users and the wider cryptocurrency community.

#hackers #rugpull #multichain #MULTI $MULTI

Rug pulls are a major concern in the cryptocurrency world, and it's important to be aware of the signs so you can protect yourself from losing money. Here are 10 tell-tale signs of a crypto rug pull:
Unkown development team: If the team behind the cryptocurrency is anonymous or unknown, it's a major red flag. Reputable projects have teams with public identities and proven track records.Locked liquidity: Liquidity refers to the ease with which a cryptocurrency can be bought or sold. If the liquidity is locked, it means that investors cannot easily sell their tokens, which is a major sign of a rug pull.Hype marketing: If the marketing for a cryptocurrency is all about hype and promises of quick riches, it's a sign that the project is more interested in taking your money than in building a sustainable product.Unrealistic returns: If a cryptocurrency is promising returns that are too good to be true, they probably are. Rug pullers often lure investors in with promises of massive gains.Complex tokenomics: If the tokenomics of a cryptocurrency are complex and difficult to understand, it's a sign that the project may be trying to hide something.No whitepaper: A whitepaper is a document that outlines the technical details of a cryptocurrency project. If there is no whitepaper, it's a major red flag.Unsigned audits: An audit is an independent review of a cryptocurrency project's code. If the code has not been audited by a reputable firm, it's a sign that the project may be hiding something.Social media shilling: If the only social media activity for a cryptocurrency is from anonymous accounts shilling the project, it's a sign that the project is not legitimate.Disabled comments: If the comments are disabled on a cryptocurrency's social media channels, it's a sign that the project is trying to control the narrative and prevent negative feedback.Inactivity from the development team: If the development team behind a cryptocurrency is inactive and not communicating with the community, it's a sign that they may be planning to rug pull.
#rugpull #CryptoScamAlert #CryptoScamAwareness

Key Insights
Rug pulls are particularly common with meme coins where price action is dependent on hype.There are three major kinds of rug pulls including liquidity, token dumps and backdoor code exploits.It likely is if something seems too good to be true in the crypto space.Remember to do your research before investing in any project.

The crypto world, despite being highly lucrative is home to some of the harshest financial scams in the world.
One of the biggest classes of crypto scams, in this case, is rug pulls.
Rug pulls (also known as rugging) are exactly what their name implies. They happen when the developers of a project suddenly withdraw all their funds.
This tanks the value of the general crypto in everyone else’s wallets and leaves investors with worthless or semi-worthless tokens. 
In 2024 alone, there have been countless memecoin rug pulls on even celebrity-endorsed memecoins.
These happened particularly on the Solana Network. 
As the crypto space continues to grow, everyone needs to understand how this scam type works and how to avoid it.

Understanding Rug Pulls in Crypto
Rug pulls happen when the creators of a project suddenly vanish after collecting investors’ money.
In many cases, the project receives a lot of hype with unreasonable promises and even some celebrity endorsements here and there.
These tactics attract a large number of investors who jump in and throw money into the pot.
Once a good amount of capital has been collected, the developers simply “pull the rug out” from under everyone else by selling their holdings and crashing the price.
These scams are more common in defi and memecoin projects—which makes sense because they are often less regulated and easier to manipulate. 
Many developers in the crypto space are often anonymous. This makes it difficult to hold rug-pull perpetrators accountable when they strike.

How Rug Pulls Work
In the crypto space, Rug pulls usually happen in three main ways. Here they are:

1. Liquidity Rug Pulls
In this form of rug pull, developers provide the initial liquidity for the scam token on a DEX like Uniswap or PancakeSwap. 
They then wait for enough investors to buy the token. As soon as the coin’s market cap hits a certain threshold, they withdraw the liquidity pool.
This leaves investors unable to sell their tokens. The price of the asset collapses and the scammers walk away with funds.

2. Token Dumping
This is the most common form of rugging. A project’s developers hold a large part of the token’s supply.
They then hype it up through aggressive marketing and get investors to buy.
Soon after, they dump their holdings on the market and cause prices to plummet.
This is especially common with memecoins where value is primarily driven by hype.

3. Backdoor Coding Exploits
This type of scam is more difficult to pull off than the other two. The scammers who exploit using backdoors typically have extensive coding knowledge.
They simply embed hidden code that allows them to mint more tokens or even drain the liquidity pool without investors knowing. 
Once the scam is in place and investors have bought in en masse, they use this exploit to drain all the assets from the project.

How to Spot a Possible Rug Pull
All of the above implies that knowing how to spot a rug pull is important. Here are some of the most common red flags to be aware of.

1. Anonymous or Unverified Developers
This is arguably one of the biggest and most common signs. When a project has anonymous developers or teams that cannot be easily verified or traced, it might be a good idea to steer clear.
It is a major red flag if you can’t find a credible source of information on who is running things.

2. Unusually High Returns Promised
There is no such thing as “guaranteed returns”. If a project promises extremely high profits in a short amount of time, it is likely too good to be true. 
Scammers often attempt to tap into the greed of investors. They do this knowing that the excitement of getting rich will blind most people to the risks.

3. No Locking or Auditing of Liquidity
This is another major red flag. Legitimate projects often lock their liquidity for a specific period or have it audited by third parties. 
This makes sure that the developers can’t suddenly withdraw funds. If a project doesn’t have these measures in place—it just might be a rug pull.

4. Sudden and Aggressive Marketing
Avoid projects when influencers suddenly start to jump in and hype it. This is especially true when these influencers have zero connection to the project.
An athlete or actor suddenly promoting a completely unrelated token can be a sign of a pump-and-dump scheme. 
Marketing is one of the biggest tools in a scammer’s toolbelt when it comes to building excitement before exiting with the funds.

5. No Clear Use Case or Roadmap
Memecoins often thrive on hype alone. However, even this class of crypto assets needs some form of vision or use case at least.
If a project lacks a well-thought-out roadmap—if it doesn’t explain how it intends to grow or maintain its value—it is likely to be a scam.

How to Avoid Meme Coin Rug Pulls
As established, memecoins are a prime target for scammers looking to pull the rug from under investors.
Here are some strategies to help you avoid becoming a victim.

1. Do Your Own Research (DYOR)
Take time to thoroughly research a project before investing. Look for information about the developers, their past projects, and the community behind the token. Also, check if the project has been audited by reputable third parties. 

2. Check Liquidity Locks
Developers can pull funds out at any time if haven’t locked liquidity for a certain period.
Many legit projects lock their liquidity for months or years. Always use platforms like Unicrypt and Team Finance to check before investing.

3. Be Wary of Over-Hyped Projects
Double-check if a project is generating excitement but lacks substance. Remember that it is always better to miss out than be a victim.

4. Diversify Your Investments
Never go all in. This is especially true for memecoins where you need to diversify across multiple projects to reduce the risk of losing everything.

5. Join the Community
Try joining the project’s social media channels and community groups. This helps to gain a sense of how transparent the team is. It also gives you an idea of how engaged the community members are. 
Rug pulls often happen in projects with fake or paid followers. If the community seems overly controlled or aggressive when anyone asks questions, it’s a red flag.

6. Monitor Developer Behavior
Keep an eye on the developers. Are they transparent? Do they communicate with the community? Are they actively working on growth? Ask these questions and pay attention to any Inconsistent or suspicious behavior from the people in charge.

Staying Safe in the Meme Coin Craze
The memecoin craze isn’t going away anytime soon. 
To this end, it is important to conduct thorough research and keep an eye out for the outlined red flags.

#Scam #crypto #rugpull #theft #DYOR