NFT Promoters Indicted On $22 Million Rug Pull Fraud Schemes

NFT rug pull

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Julia Smith

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Julia Smith

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Julia is an experienced editor with a passion for covering a wide variety of beats. She loves all things politics and regularly covers regulatory updates on emerging technology here for Crypto News.

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December 23, 2024

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Two California men, Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo, have been indicted for reportedly defrauding investors in several NFT rug pull schemes that saw $22 million drained from victims, December 20 Los Angeles court documents reveal.

Gabriel Hay, Gavin Mayo Arrested For NFT Rug Pull Schemes

According to a Friday press release, Hay and Mayo allegedly created misleading project roadmaps for a number of NFT projects between May 2021 and May 2024, including Vault of Gems, Faceless, Sinful Souls, Clout Coin, Dirty Dogs, Uncovered, MoonPortal, Squiggles, and Roost Coin.

The two 23 year olds reportedly undertook promotional activities for several NFT projects before ultimately abandoning them, leading to their arrest by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on the 20.

“For three years, Hay and Mayo apparently lied to their investors in order to defraud them out of millions of dollars,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger.

“Such technological fraud schemes cost investors millions of dollars every year. Just because such crimes aren’t violent does not mean they are victimless.”

Crypto Scammers Threatened Project Manager

In one instance, the purported crypto scammers falsely claimed that the Vault of Gems would be the “first NFT project to be pegged to a hard asset.”

The duo attempted to conceal their involvement in the illegitimate scheme “by falsely identifying other individuals or causing other individuals to be falsely identified as owners of the projects.”

When a Faceless NFT project manager threatened to expose Hay and Mayo’s role in the fraud, the two Los Angeles area natives harassed and intimidated the unnamed individual and their family, causing significant emotional distress.

“Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo allegedly defrauded investors in digital asset projects of tens of millions of dollars and threatened an individual who attempted to expose their roles in these fraudulent schemes,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“The department is committed to protecting investors and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraud involving cryptocurrency and other digital assets and bring offenders to justice,” he added.

Hay and Mayo have each been charged with one count of stalking, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The two are facing a maximum penalty of two decades in prison on the conspiracy and wire fraud charges as well as an additional five years behind bars for stalking.