TL;DR Breakdown
- French influencer rug pulls thousands from Billionaire Dogs Club (BDC) NFT project.
- NFT rug pulls become more apparent.
Laurent Correira, a prominent French influencer and reality TV star, is the latest in a long line of rug pullers in the non-fungible token (NFT) industry. According to a recent expose, Laurent Correira stands to be behind the now-defunct NFT collection Billionare Dogs Club (BDC).
French influencer aids a crypto rug pull
On Monday, the on-chain crypto sleuth “zachxbt,” well-known for his Twitter threads analyzing prominent people and projects in the industry, posted a new thread claiming that French influencer Laurent Correia had a significant hand in an NFT project that went sideways.
Zachxbt revealed how the French influencer was the brains behind the Billionaire Dogs NFT project’s rug pulling in a Twitter thread. Additionally, he showcased how the highly advertised campaign with huge bonuses and luxury automobiles played a major role as clickbait for investors.
5/ You might be asking how do I know it’s his public wallet?
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 4, 2022
Well he literally spent the money on a MAYC 18272, CloneX, & Doodle. Then he posted it on Instagram to his story & changed his profile picture.https://t.co/xvsX3PHJV8 pic.twitter.com/bnZg37ZXvt
The Billionaire Dogs Club project was launched in mid-December 2021 at a public mint price of 0.2 ETH. Originally, the collection contained 6,500 NFTs worth 0.1 ETH in presale and 0.2 ETH in sales, but it reduced significantly when investors failed to respond positively. However, the organization vanished just a week later, and the website and Discord channel were both deleted.
According to Zachxbt, the disappearance left NFT owners devastated, having lost their initial investments. On-chain analysis by an analyst revealed that Correia had allegedly sent $400,000 of the project’s anticipated $960,000 revenue to his public crypto wallet.
After tracking his activity on OpenSea, it appears that the French influencer used the stolen funds to purchase NFTs, a MAYC, CloneX, and a Doodle. He then uploaded the newly acquired NFTs on his Instagram story while changing his profile picture to a Mutant Ape.
The same wallet was used to acquire other valuable NFTs, as Correia demonstrated on his social media accounts. Zachxbt tagged the Dubai Police, the local law enforcement where Correia resides, criticizing him for blatantly rug pulling a project like this after learning the facts. However, given the uncertified nature of NFTs, it’s quite possible that he will not get charged.
The event once again emphasizes the need for rules, particularly for NFTs. Several influencers and celebrities have been promoting NFT projects in recent months, but most recently, these projects rug pulled.
Even the greatest in the financial world get fooled by today’s new paradigm of social media influencers, flamboyant lifestyles, and quick money. The tragic reality is that SMS (social media sensitive) users are susceptible to just about every promotional claim. However, in the wake of FUD and FOMO, crypto investors must be intelligent and do their homework.
The broad use of influencer marketing by cryptocurrency firms explains why various nations, such as Australia, are attempting to regulate financial influencers. According to a 2021 survey in Australia, 33% of Australian citizens follow a financial influencer.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has released new warnings to financial influencers. The warning was included in ASIC’s Information Sheet. It warned what individuals and corporations hiring them should be aware of.
Although Zachxbt may have exposed the entire project as a rug pull, previous discoveries suggest that Correira was more a mastermind than an influencer. In an interview with a Dubai businessman named Mohammed Amin in January, prior to the announcement coming to the limelight, he exposed the French influencer as a fraud.
He claimed that Correira had misled him and other investors who bought the NFTs on the promise of future returns. Several victims accused Correira of attracting investors by drawing attention to his active social media presence, claiming that famous people like Kanye West and LeBron James were involved. After that, he vanished with their $400,000 worth of crypto invested in the project.
After this, Amin stated that he and other victims had been gathering evidence to file a lawsuit in the UAE. Zachxbt’s new information may aid their case even more.
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