A man has been indicted by U.S. authorities for allegedly stealing $450,000 worth of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Soufiane Oulahyane, a Moroccan national, is accused of using a spoofing technique to create a look-alike website of popular NFT marketplace OpenSea in order to gain unauthorized access to digital assets and NFTs.
The indictment includes multiple counts of wire fraud, the use of an unauthorized access device, and aggravated identity theft, which occurred in September 2021. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated, Oulahyane adapted [an] old tool for use in a new and developing arena – the crypto space.
Oulahyane allegedly used his fake OpenSea site to trick a Manhattan NFT owner into registering and providing the seed phrase to his digital wallet. He then transferred cryptocurrency and a number of NFTs, including one from the Bored Ape Yacht Club series worth roughly $92,000, to his control and sold them.
Currently, Oulahyane is in custody in Morocco and could face up to 47 years in prison if found guilty of the charges.