

Turns out the man taking credit for snatching and holding Tekashi69's chain for ransom isn't a real thief – he's just a jeweler who trolled fans with a marketing stunt.

A1 Peepz outed himself as 69's alleged chain-snatcher and posted a video demanding $200,000 for the bling that, aside from a few small details, bore a striking resemblance to the rapper's pricey Jigsaw-inspired piece.

The Blast spoke with A1 Peepz who told us the entire thing was a marketing stunt for his jewelry wholesale and retail company, Aporro.com.

"I knew it was a matter of time before he [Tekashi] got robbed just based off how much he trolls," he said of the prank. "So when he did I was ready with content and seeing as I'm a jeweler, I had access to recreate the 69 piece myself. I've had the troll piece for 45 days now," adding that the Jigsaw jewelry in the video was one of two pieces, with one going to a customer and the other, himself.

Some 69 fans on social media were adamant the piece was fake, many believed they'd found the culprit and others just wanted to know if the Jigsaw chain was available to buy. Either way, the stunt worked and we're told A1 saw a 17% spike in overall sales as well as thousands of new Instagram followers for his brand.

The prank comes several days after Tekashi was allegedly assaulted and robbed in New York City.

No arrests have been made and the NYPD is currently investigating the incident.



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