A Moroccan individual named Soufiane Oulahyane is facing charges and a potential 47-year prison sentence for orchestrating a sophisticated crypto scam that amounted to $450,000. The scheme involved creating a fake version of OpenSea, an NFT marketplace, using a technique known as spoofing.

Oulahyane replicated OpenSea’s website and used paid advertisements to ensure his fake site appeared at the top of search results. Unwitting victims provided their login credentials on the fraudulent site, which Oulahyane received in his email account.

The scam resulted in significant losses, with the main victim unknowingly disclosing their seed phrase. Oulahyane exploited this information to transfer the victim’s wallet contents and sell stolen NFTs, including a Bored Ape, for approximately 49 ETH. As a result, he now faces multiple charges, including wire fraud, unauthorized access device usage, and aggravated identity theft.

Currently detained in Morocco, Oulahyane awaits legal proceedings that could lead to a lengthy imprisonment if convicted, highlighting the severity of his fraudulent actions.