The U.S. Department of Justice has brought charges against two brothers, Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, for orchestrating a groundbreaking scheme that involved manipulating the Ethereum blockchain to steal $25 million in cryptocurrency. The brothers, arrested in Boston and New York, face wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering charges, each carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Their sophisticated operation involved exploiting vulnerabilities in Ethereum’s transaction validation processes, allowing them to access and alter pending private transactions, resulting in the theft of victims’ cryptocurrency. The indictment alleges that the brothers meticulously planned the attack, studying victims’ trading behaviors and taking steps to conceal their identities and the proceeds of their crime.
To obscure their involvement and launder the stolen funds, the brothers employed a variety of tactics, including using multiple cryptocurrency addresses, foreign exchanges, and shell companies. Additionally, they manipulated Ethereum validators, deployed test transactions to identify vulnerable targets, exploited a vulnerability in MEV-Boost relay code, and reordered proposed blocks to their advantage.
Throughout the scheme, the brothers conducted extensive research online on various aspects of the attack, including concealing their involvement, laundering proceeds, and navigating legal procedures. The case marks a significant milestone in blockchain-related criminal activity and underscores the need for enhanced security measures to protect against such sophisticated cybercrimes.
