The US Department of Justice has filed four charges against the Baller Ape Club in four separate cases, wherein six individuals have been charged with various crimes.
An official notice described this as the largest known NFT scheme charged to date. It highlighted that the fraudulent investment fund purportedly traded on cryptocurrency exchanges. The notice said Baller Ape Club is a global Ponzi scheme involving the sale of unregistered crypto securities and a fraudulent initial coin offering.
The Department of Justice (DOJ noted that such cases serve as a crucial reminder that some con artists hide behind trendy buzzwords. They just want people’s money. The department will work with its law enforcement partners to educate and protect potential investors about traditional and trendy investments.
Moreover, the DOJ is also filing a case against Le Anh Tuan – the creator of Baller Ape NFT. He is alleged to have promoted the project to gain sales and quickly shut it down after fleeing with the investors’ money. He is said to have looted $2.6 million from this project. Tuan could face up to 40 years in prison if found guilty. Three men have also been charged for allegedly raising more than $100 million in a global crypto Ponzi scheme – EmpiresX.
These charges show that the US authorities are taking the crypto market very seriously in terms of economic implications and the use of crypto assets in illicit activities.
