In a first-of-its-kind case, two brothers are facing charges for allegedly stealing a staggering $25 million in cryptocurrency within seconds.
Anton Peraire-Bueno (24) and James Peraire-Bueno (28) are accused of wire fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors believe the brothers, graduates of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), exploited a vulnerability in the Ethereum blockchain to pull off the audacious heist back in April 2023.
"This wasn't a smash-and-grab," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. "The Peraire-Bueno brothers meticulously planned this high-tech scheme for months before executing it in a matter of seconds."
Authorities credit IRS agents with cracking the case, which prosecutors describe as a groundbreaking fraud and money laundering operation.
The indictment alleges the brothers used their advanced computer science and mathematics skills, honed at MIT, to manipulate Ethereum's transaction validation process. Reports indicate they targeted pending transactions and diverted the cryptocurrency to themselves. This exploit, as investigators call it, took a mere seconds to complete.
When confronted, the brothers reportedly refused to return the stolen funds and attempted to launder the money. This "novel" form of crypto theft, prosecutors say, sets a legal precedent.
If convicted, each brother faces over two decades behind bars.