The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged 20-year-olds, Ethan Nguyen and Andre Llacuna over conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, in connection to rugpulling the Frosties NFT project. DOJ Charges NFT Rug Pullers According to a Thursday release from the Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York, Ethan Nguyen and Andre Llacuna were arrested in Los Angeles in “connection with a million-dollar scheme to defraud purchasers” of the NFTs “Frosties.” “Mr. Nguyen and Mr. Llacuna promised investors the benefits of the Frosties NFTs, but when it sold out they pulled the rug out from under the victims, almost immediately shutting down the website and transferring the money,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in a press release. First NFT rugpullers to get sentenced to prison (20 yrs)… Ngl, could think of a few more names to add to that list 🤷🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/KHSKnFn4Dp — Nizzy🍌 (@NizzyNFT) March 25, 2022 Nguyen and Llacuna are the alleged founders of the Ethereum-based Frosties NFT project that held its mint in January. After selling through the 8,888 NFTs and taking over about $1.1 million worth of ETH in the process, the creators closed down the project’s Discord channel and disappeared with the funds. This is the first known case of the Department of Justice charging NFT creators with alleged conspiracy to defraud buyers, a poten...
