According to prosecutors, Nowlin and Rhoden minted 632 “Undead Tombstone” NFTs before abandoning the project, deleting social media accounts, and cutting communication with investors in April 2022. They allegedly defrauded victims of nearly $400,000 in cryptocurrency.
Rhoden, 25, who handled marketing for the project, pled guilty and testified against Nowlin. He admitted the project had no definitive plans for staking, despite promoting it as a feature. Nowlin’s role reportedly included setting up staking platforms. Rhoden described Nowlin as a childhood friend but cooperated with the government immediately, helping secure Nowlin’s indictment.
Rhoden’s sentencing memorandum requested probation of one to five years due to his substantial assistance in the case, noting a “relatively low loss amount” of just over $130,800. He was sentenced to five years’ probation on Nov. 20.
Nowlin, who maintains he intended to keep the project going and was unaware of Rhoden’s fraudulent promises, is scheduled to be sentenced in January.
