DOJ Indicts NFT Scammer Who Made OpenSea Copycat – ARTnews.com

Via the DOJ

The Department of Justice indicted Soufiane Oulahya on fraud charges related to an scheme to impersonate OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, “in order to obtain unauthorized access to cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens,” according to a press release Monday.

The DOJ alleges that, in September 2021, Oulahya created a copycat website of OpenSea and paid for sponsored advertisements on a popular search engine so that his spoof website would pop up first in searches.

In the unsealed indictment, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, only referred to one victim, an unnamed individual who lost approximately $450,000 worth of Ethereum and NFTs after he logged into the fraudulent website “almost immediately” after it was made. The victim input his crypto-wallet details, which held his crypto-assets. After the victim inputted his crypto-wallet identification number, Oulahya was able to access the wallet’s, according to the indictment, which he allegedly transferred to a wallet in his control. He then sold the victim’s NFTs on legitimate NFT marketplaces.

In total, Oulahya allegedly sold 39 of the victim’s NFTs, according to the DOJ, including a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT and a Meebit NFT, both made by Yuga Labs.

Oulahya, a 25-year-old national of the Kingdom of Morocco, is currently being held in his home country on foreign charges. The defendant will be brought to New York and charged with one count of wire fraud, two counts access device fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Oulahya will have to forfeit all property obtained in the alleged fraud.

“As alleged, Soufiane Oulahyane used a common cybercrime technique to steal victim cryptocurrency and NFTs. ‘Spoofing’ is one of the oldest tricks in the criminal playbook,” Williams said in a press release, “spoofing” referring to making a copycat website. “Oulahyane adapted this old tool for use in a new and developing arena – the crypto space. The charges unsealed today should serve as a reminder that digital assets, such as cryptocurrency and NFTs, are not immune from cyber fraudsters and that my Office is committed to prosecuting these fraudsters both here and abroad.”

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OpenSea did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is not the first time the DOJ has gotten involved in NFT-related crimes. In May, the former OpenSea employee Nate Chastain was convicted on charges of insider trading, after a DOJ investigation.