According to a breaking statement, the US Department of Justice arrested two brothers named Anton Peraire-Bueno and James Pepaire-Bueno for attacking the Ethereum blockchain and stealing $ 25 million.
The indictment charging 24-year-old Anton Peraire-Bueno, who lives in Boston, and 28-year-old James Pepaire-Bueno, who lives in New York, with conspiracy to commit fraud, bank fraud and money laundering crimes was announced today.
The charges stem from the defendants’ scheme to fraudulently obtain $25 million worth of cryptocurrency in approximately 12 seconds by leveraging the integrity provided by the Ethereum blockchain.
The Peraire-Bueno brothers were arrested yesterday in Boston and New York, respectively, and will be arraigned this afternoon U.S. time before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul G. Levenson for the District of Massachusetts and U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo for the Southern District of New York.
“As alleged in today’s indictment, the Peraire-Bueno brothers stole $25 million in Ethereum cryptocurrency through a technologically complex, cutting-edge scheme that they planned for months and executed in seconds,” said Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) New York Field Office, commented: “These brothers used Ethereum by fraudulently gaining access to pending transactions, altering the movement of electronic money, and ultimately stealing $25 million worth of cryptocurrency from their victims.” They allegedly carried out a first-of-its-kind manipulation of the blockchain.”
*This is not investment advice.
