Two California men, Gabriel Hay of Beverly Hills and Gavin Mayo of Thousand Oaks, have been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for orchestrating a series of NFT rug pulls that defrauded investors of over $22 million. The DOJ revealed the indictment on Friday, marking the case as the largest NFT fraud scheme it has ever prosecuted.
Hay and Mayo face charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of stalking. They were arrested Thursday in Los Angeles. According to Katrina W. Berger, Executive Associate Director of Homeland Security Investigations, the duo’s actions over three years caused millions in losses for investors.
From May 2021 to May 2024, Hay—who used aliases such as “Mr. Handz,” “Diamondhandz,” “Centurion,” and “Vaultkeeper”—and Mayo, also known as “Gavinm,” promoted NFT projects on false pretenses. They used misleading roadmaps and deceptive claims to entice buyers, only to disappear with the invested funds, a practice known as a “rug pull.”
The indictment states that Hay and Mayo targeted victims by minting NFTs on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. Some of the projects they are accused of misleading investors about include Vault of Gems, Faceless, Sinful Souls, Clout Coin, Dirty Dogs, Uncovered, MoonPortal, Squiggles, and Roost Coin. The duo falsely claimed, for instance, that Vault of Gems would be tied to real-world assets like jewelry, but these promises were never fulfilled.
The case highlights the growing risks of technological fraud schemes in the rapidly evolving NFT market, with the DOJ now holding those responsible for large-scale fraud accountable.