Crypto Scam Alert: Serpent, Ex-Fortnite Star, Defrauds $3.5M in Rug Pull

A threat actor, ‘Serpent’ who used to play Fortnite professionally hailing from Australia has been accused of being involved in a crypto scam that made away with $ 3.5 million. Nevertheless, his being part of the esports organization over time can be noted. Serpent’s career was in this organization until June 2020 when he was dismissed, through a cheating scandal.

In March ’22, Serpent co-created the NFT project DAPE, which was a rug pull, the beginning of his weird journey. By March 2024, he began another project, ERROR, which rug pulled and got him banned from X (formerly Twitter).

Tracing the Scams and Funds

Elaborate research by an on-chain investigator, ZachXBT shows that Serpent used the deployer address 0x8…120ee8 for the heists. On 23 October 2024, the deployer sent 29 ETHs to instant exchanges. This analysis unveiled the fact that all these funds had the same Solana deposit address associated with a casino.

Serpent has previously invested tens of millions of dollars per month in sites such as Roobet, Stake, BC Game, and Shuffle and broadcasts on Discord. During such sessions, recordings were leaked exposing different deposit and withdrawal addresses that incriminated him.

Top Profile Account Break-ins

At one point, Serpent went after individuals but the organization’s operation is not limited to personal swindling. It should be noted that multiple account takeovers (ATOs) can be connected with him, McDonald, Andy Ayrey, Dean Norris, and Enoshima Aquarium. 

Significantly, further complicating the result of the Andy Ayrey compromise was another actor identified only as “Dex,” from Massachusetts, USA, who reportedly got spooked after being outed in a Telegram investigation.

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Efforts to Evade Detection

As the drama proceeded Serpent started to remove posts from his new X account after the release of the exposé. Nevertheless, money from the scams is still easily linked to certain addresses owned by him.

Serpent’s fall from grace shows that the space is not getting safer. Authorities believe that more such related compromises remain to be linked to the blockchain, suggesting the public should be wary of such elaborate cons.