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Former MIT students charged with allegedly stealing $25 million in cryptocurrency – Boston News, Weather, Sports
BOSTON (WHDH) – Two former MIT students are facing charges after allegedly stealing approximately $25 million in cryptocurrency in 12 seconds.
Federal authorities along with the US Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service in a joint statement said that brothers Anton Peraire-Bueno, 24, and James Peraire-Bueno, 28, conducted a “new scheme” to leverage the integrity of the Ethereum blockchain. Together, the two were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, said this alleged scheme “has never been charged before.”
“But as the indictment makes clear, no matter how sophisticated the fraud or how novel the techniques used to carry it out, the career prosecutors of this Office will be relentless in prosecuting individuals who attack the integrity of all financial systems.”
In the unsealed indictment, prosecutors said the Peraire-Bueno brothers spent several months planning, identifying a loophole in the software and eventually gaining access to pending Ethereum transactions.
According to the indictment, the brothers executed the alleged crime in April 2023.
After the theft, prosecutors said, the brothers ignored requests to return the funds and instead “agreed among themselves to launder the proceeds.”
“As we argue, the defendants’ scheme calls into question the very integrity of the blockchain,” Williams said.
Officials said Anton and James Peraire-Bueno were arrested Tuesday in Boston and New York, respectively, and were due to appear in court in Boston and New York on Wednesday. Information on the outcome of their first appearances was not immediately available.
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