Five US States accuse Russian metaverse project of duping investors

Five states in the US have announced they will be taking action against a Russian organization selling fraudulent NFTs to US investors. The organization is reportedly using the proceeds from the sale of these NFTs to build a metaverse casino dubbed Flamingo Casino Club.

Five US States flag the Russian metaverse project

Alabama, Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas, and Wisconsin have said that Flamingo Club is soliciting money from investors illegally. The company behind this metaverse casino is based in Russia, and it has been selling non-fungible tokens to US investors since March.

The metaverse project lures investors by promising them high profits from the increasing value of the NFTs. The NFTs are used as proof of ownership for the items and properties within the virtual casino.

According to the Texas State Securities Board, the organization also misled investors by promising rewards, including iPhones, Teslas and money. The joint statement by the states added that the project made false claims about its operations.

The firm had said it was working with the Flamingo Las Vegas casino, but this was a false claim. The company also falsely claimed it had partnered with Marketwatch and Yahoo. The metaverse project also lied that it had inked a deal with Snoop Dogg for the rapper to buy some of the virtual lands, but this was also a fraudulent claim.

According to the regulators, those behind this project assured investors that funds would go towards creating a casino and entertainment joint in The Sandbox metaverse, but this was likely not going to happen.

Team behind the metaverse project concealed details

Scams in the cryptocurrency market have become rampant over the past year. However, there are warning signs that investors can look out for. Many online scammers tend to remain anonymous and hide their personal details, and this was the case with the Flamingo Casino Club metaverse project.

The regulators said that the project used “a phony office address, providing a telephone number that is not in service, concealing its actual physical location and hiding material information about its principals.”

The organization also concealed its Russian origins. The regulators said that the project had used technology to create legitimacy and scam its victims, adding that this was just one of the many rampant scams in the metaverse.