Bitcoin
American brothers arrested for stealing $25 million in cryptocurrencies in just 12 seconds
May 15, 2024
Image source, Getty Images
Two brothers who studied at one of the most prestigious universities in the US have been accused of stealing $25 million (£20 million) worth of cryptocurrency in 12 seconds.
Anton Peraire-Bueno, 24, and James Peraire-Bueno, 28, are accused of wire fraud and money laundering.
The U.S. Department of Justice said the alleged robbery is the first of its kind.
Prosecutors also say that the pair, allegedly trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), carried out the crime in April 2023.
“The Peraire-Bueno brothers stole $25 million in Ethereum cryptocurrency through a cutting-edge, technologically sophisticated scheme they planned for months and executed in seconds,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
She added that Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents played a key role in uncovering the “pioneering wire fraud and money laundering scheme.”
Prosecutors allege the two used highly specialized skills they learned at “one of the world’s most prestigious universities” to exploit Ethereum’s process for validating transactions.
The brothers studied mathematics and computer science, according to the charges, and both attended MIT, according to news reports.
“The defendants’ scheme calls into question the very integrity of the blockchain,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement Wednesday, referring to the public ledger that records cryptographic payments.
The brothers allegedly stole from Ethereum traders by fraudulently gaining access to pending private transactions and then altering the transactions to obtain their victims’ cryptocurrency.
The process, which investigators say they call “the exploit,” took just a few seconds to execute.
When confronted by an Ethereum representative, authorities say the brothers refused to return the funds and took steps to launder and hide the stolen earnings.
Prosecutors note that this is the first time that a “new” form of fraud has been the subject of criminal charges.
They each face more than 20 years in prison if found guilty.