Two brothers, Anton Peraire-Bueno, 24, and James Peraire-Bueno, 28, who studied at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have been charged with stealing $25 million in cryptocurrency in just 12 seconds. They face allegations of wire fraud and money laundering, with the U.S. Department of Justice stating that this alleged heist is the first of its kind.
According to prosecutors, the brothers executed the sophisticated theft in April 2023, utilizing advanced skills they acquired during their studies in mathematics and computer science at MIT. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco remarked that the brothers orchestrated the theft through a “cutting-edge scheme” they had planned for months.
“The Peraire-Bueno brothers stole $25 million in Ethereum cryptocurrency through a technologically sophisticated, cutting-edge scheme they plotted for months and executed in seconds,” Monaco stated. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) played a crucial role in unraveling this unprecedented wire fraud and money laundering case.
The brothers allegedly exploited Ethereum’s transaction validation process to fraudulently gain access to pending private transactions, subsequently altering them to seize their victims’ cryptocurrency. Investigators have labeled this method “the Exploit,” which was executed within a matter of seconds.
When approached by Ethereum representatives, the Peraire-Bueno brothers reportedly refused to return the stolen funds and took measures to launder their gains. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams emphasized that the scheme undermines the integrity of the blockchain, the public ledger that records cryptocurrency transactions.
This case marks the first instance of such a novel fraud being subjected to criminal charges, and if convicted, both brothers could face over 20 years in prison.