Washington – A pair of brothers from New York and Boston were taken into federal custody Tuesday, accused by prosecutors of masterminding a new criminal scheme to steal about $25 million in cryptocurrency from a widely used blockchain, according to a newly unsealed indictment.
Anton and James Peraire-Bueno were charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Investigators accused them of plotting their theft within the Ethereum blockchain for months, luring their victims and setting up shell companies to hide their illicit profits.
According to charging documents, the pair studied mathematics and computer science “at one of the most prestigious universities in the country,” which prosecutors said gave them a unique set of skills that allowed them to perform the first of its kind. in a matter of seconds. James Peraire-Bueno is listed as one 2021 graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The brothers allegedly began laying the groundwork in December 2022, engaging in what investigators called a “decoy” operation that targeted three specific victim traders on the Ethereum digital platform. They are specifically accused of abusing the 'validators' on the blockchain, essential components of the integrity and security of transactions.
“By doing so, they fraudulently gained access to ongoing private transactions and used that access to alter certain transactions and obtain their victims' cryptocurrency,” prosecutors alleged in court documents.
Investigators said the defendants' plot took months to plan but only 12 seconds to execute, reportedly raking in about $25 million from their unwitting victims.
From April and June last year, Peraire-Buenos was accused of laundering their money through shell companies. Prosecutors said the duo even rejected repeated requests from a victim, the victim's attorney and an Ethereum representative to return the cryptocurrency.
They were arrested on Tuesday and are expected to make their first appearance in federal courts in New York and Boston on Wednesday.
“As cryptocurrency markets continue to evolve, the Department of Justice will continue to root out fraud, support victims, and restore trust in these markets,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.
Attorneys for the brothers could not immediately be identified.
