French authorities charged five people in Paris for stealing millions of dollars worth of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs among other assets via phishing websites.
Five suspects are said to be members of a criminal group that stole $2.5 million from late last year to early this year, according to a statement made by the local media.
According to reports, five people have apparently been charged based on information from the anonymous crypto investigator ZachXBT. In August, ZachXBT did a detailed thread on the “Scammers in Paris.”
Zach’s investigation is claimed to have helped identify two of the suspects. He had discovered at least three victims who had fallen for the scam then. Five victims have been identified by police, including one who had three NFTs stolen; one of the Bored Apes is reported to be valued at over $1 million.
Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFTs were animated on a website that the alleged fraudsters constructed under the guise of service.
The phishing website was actually used to steal their NFTs and credentials. Prosecutors have asked for the pre-trial custody of two of the accused since they are believed to be the ring leaders.
The other three are thought to have engaged in both money laundering and website advertising. Seven people were taken into police custody by France’s Central Office for the Fight against Crime Related to Information and Communication Technologies.
This included the five accused, who ranged in age from 19 to 24, as well as the parents of one suspect. However, the report states that the parents have subsequently been freed without facing charges at this time.
Zach is a beloved of the cryptocurrency community because of his dedicated service and has published a number of on-chain investigations focusing on rug pull, scams, hacks, and pump and dumps. Recently, ZachXBT accused crypto influencer Lark Davis of being involved in pumping low-capital crypto projects and dumping them and making over $1 million.
