Australian Fortnite YouTuber SerpentAU, once celebrated for his extraordinary gaming skills, is now in the middle of a serious Cryptocurrency fraud scandal.
Blockchain investigator, ZachXBT, has revealed that SerpentAU, whose real name has not yet been made public, played a key role in a scheme to defraud up to $3.5 million through meme coin scams. This is a spectacular fall from glory for the former esports talent, who was kicked out of Overtime Gaming in 2020 after being accused of cheating.
From Gaming Scandal to Cryptocurrency Fraud
ZachXBT’s detailed investigation highlights SerpentAU’s involvement in multiple account takeover (ATO) cases. The YouTuber took aim at celebrities, including McDonald’s, Usher, and coin meme creator Kabosu.
“Over the past few months, I have been following a series of hacks involving McDonald’s, Usher, Kabosu owners, Andy Ayrey, Wiz Khalifa, SPX 6900 etc on X & IG resulting in approximately 3.5+ Million USD Stolen Through Launch of Pump Fun Coin Memes,” Blockchain Investigator said.
These compromised social media accounts were used to promote fraudulent Cryptocurrencies, causing uninformed followers to rush to make large investments. For example, the McDonald’s Instagram hack brought in over 690K USD for the scammer. The bad guys transferred funds through a blockchain wallet linked to SerpentAU.
Using real-time analytics and on-chain tracking, ZachXBT linked funds from these scams to gambling platforms like Stake and Roobet. SerpentAU is said to have bet millions on these platforms. In one case, a leaked Discord screen share revealed Serpent making large-value deposits and withdrawals, linked to the alleged wallets in the scams.
SerpentAU famous in 2020 after being accused of using macros, a software tool that allows for unfair advantage in Fortnite’s Creative mode. Despite expressing remorse and attributing his actions to a lack of understanding of their severity, his career took a darker path.
By 2022, SerpentAU had co-founded NFT (Non-Fungible Token) and Cryptocurrency projects such as DAPE and ERROR. Both of these projects collapsed amid accusations of fraudulent activity. These projects paved the way for his deeper entanglement in blockchain-based scams.
As details of SerpentAU’s involvement reveal, the fallout goes beyond Cryptocurrencies. Victims of scams are facing significant financial losses. The esports community must confront the ethical violations of one of its former stars. Ironically, Serpent’s initial apology for cheating in Fortnite included a call for sympathy.
“My actions have been clouded by money, influence and the experiences I have had,” SerpentAU once said.
These words now resonate as a dire warning about his journey into Cryptocurrency fraud. The incident is a stark reminder of the changing nature of online fraud.
The role of social media platforms as tools for bad actors becomes clear. As ZachXBT continues to decode the full scope of these conspiracies, the Cryptocurrency and video game communities are facing the cost of mistrusting influential figures.
Meanwhile, this is not ZachXBT’s first major investigation. This Blockchain investigator has previously exposed significant fraud, including scams targeting Coinbase users. He also revealed meme coin manipulation involving prominent figures such as influencer Murad.
His work also led to the arrest of hackers linked to Genesis Trading’s creditors. Some also pushed for the resignations of key figures in OpSec Williams after allegations of fraud emerged. ZachXBT’s relentless focus on exposing fraud in the Cryptocurrency ecosystem reflects the broader risks investors are facing.
