ChainCatcher news, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday that three British individuals have been charged with orchestrating a $3 million scam related to the "Evolved Apes" NFT series. Mohamed-Amin Atcha, Mohamed Rilaz Waleedh, and Daood Hassan are accused of committing telecommunications fraud and money laundering in their scheme.The Department of Justice stated that the charges stem from a 2021 scheme aimed at enticing NFT collectors to purchase "10,000 unique" Ethereum-based NFTs, known as "Evolved Apes," which could then be used in an online battle game. The defendants collectively received 798 ETH, worth approximately $2.7 million at the time.Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement, "As alleged, the defendants inflated the prices of digital artwork by falsely promising to develop a video game. They allegedly took investors' money, never developed the game, and pocketed the proceeds."