Online investigative media Mediapart revealed on Sunday that Kev Adams would be involved in a film project that would have siphoned off nearly 1.5 million euros from some 770 “investors” partly from his community. Nicknamed Plush (“plush”), this project, of which the actor became the first ambassador last year, was to give birth in 2023 to an animated feature film financed in a participatory manner by a sale of NFT. If the film in question is still pending, the money collected from fans of the comedian would have landed in an opaque company based in Dubai, says Mediapart in its investigation. A geographical detail that had not been specified by the project managers.
Media showcase of the Plush project, Kev Adams is not at the origin of this fundraiser. The operation is carried out by Illuminart, an obscure company registered as a manufacturer of works of art in Dubai’s tax haven, notes the online media. Its French representative, Fabien Tref, makes an appearance disguised as a bear in one of Kev Adams’ videos. The man, an acquaintance of the actor, is a “cryptocurrency investor”, a “big player”, “banned from casino”, according to Mediapart. Close to controversial personalities linked to cryptocurrencies, such as Marc Blata and Ron Risk, Fabien Tref would be under the surveillance of Tracfin, the French intelligence service responsible for the fight against clandestine financial circuits and money laundering.
In May and June 2022, the Plush film project is presented by Kev Adams to his community. The stated objective is to raise more than 60 million euros to finance the film and have it produced by two small animation studios, Karlab and Rooftop Production. An advertisement for the project is displayed in the middle of the Cannes Film Festival and presents a cast supposed to reassure about the seriousness of the project: Gérard Darmon, Audrey Lamy or even Gims share the poster. Finally, a tantalizing carrot is presented to fans willing to finance the film: a 516% return on investment.
To finance Plush, Illuminart and Kev Adams invite the public to become “co-producers” of the film by purchasing “Plush NFT”, digital images that should be acquired with cryptocurrencies. There is a catch, however. “The film will be produced only if the 50,000 NFTs are sold”, summarizes Mediapart. Faced with the doubts of part of his community, the comedian is reassuring. “But no bro, we’re not going to ruin anyone!” he exclaimed in a May Instagram Live. At the launch of the project, nearly 700 people flocked to the “Plush NFT”, put on sale at 1250 euros each.
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The story ends in July. The million and a half euros generated by the sale does not allow production of the feature film to begin. Fabien Tref’s latest public statement indicates that this amount was spent on “American influencers” and “marketing” and that he himself lost money in this adventure, due to a “cryptocurrency crash”. Unverifiable facts, points out the Mediapart investigation.
The “investors”, who will not be reimbursed, thus feel cheated – a feeling heightened by the sudden cessation, in the summer of 2022, of all the hitherto thunderous communication of Illuminart. A person interviewed by Mediapart indicates that he only received a flocked t-shirt with the Plush logo for his two NFTs. “Today, we can say that I paid 2,250 euros for a T-shirt,” he laments. Asked by Mediapart, neither Fabien Tref nor Kev Adams wanted to comment on Plush’s ruinous flop.
