Two NFT Influencers Indicted For Allegedly Rug Pulling Over $22M

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Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo, renowned crypto and non-fungible token influencers and United States nationals, residing in California state, have been charged for allegedly defrauding over $22 million. The two are accused of promoting a non-fungible token project that ended up being a rug-pull scam. The two fugitives were arrested in Los Angeles state and are now facing fraud charges.

Two NFT Influencers Face Fraud Charges

In a December 23 press release, the Office of Public Affairs of the United States Department of Justice confirmed that the two fugitives, Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo, have been arrested in Los Angeles and presented before court for fraud charges. Hay and Mayo have been charged with each a single charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of stalking.

Look at this guy

He made $22M from NFT scams

Yesterday, he was arrested

Here’s the untold story of his rise and fall:

1/11 pic.twitter.com/eU3ayNihBY

— Pix🔎 (@PixOnChain) December 24, 2024

Based on the charge sheet, Hay and Mayo allegedly sponsored and promoted unregistered non-fungible token projects and performed promotional activities to support the projects. The Justice Department further charged the two made or caused other people to make “materially false and misleading statements” about the digital asset projects. The prosecutors also alleged that the two provided false project roadmaps, which they knew the project did not intend to fulfill.

The prosecutor claimed Hay and Mayo promoted the Vault of Gems NFT project by alluding that it would be the first NFT project “pegged to a hard asset.” Despite all these sound promises, the duo abandoned the NFT project after collecting over $22 million from investors. In a short press briefing, Nicole Argentieri, the Principal Deputy Attorney General and the Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, remarked:

“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. Fraudsters take advantage of new technologies and financial products to steal investors’ hard-earned money.”

What Is Rug Pull And How To Avoid It?

Rug Pull is a non-fungible token scam that happens when rogue promoters “like Hay and Mayo” create a buzz on social media over an NFT project, making new investors obsessed with investing in this particular project. Once the NFT project amasses a considerable market cap, the fraudsters abandon the project and walk away with the investors’ funds. To avoid this scam, users are advised to conduct due diligence on the project team before investing to make sure they are well-known and reputable in the crypto community.