Two brothers who studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were arrested on Wednesday for exploiting the Ethereum blockchain's integrity and stealing $25 million worth of cryptocurrency.
Federal prosecutors charged Anton Peraire-Bueno, 24, and James Peraire-Bueno, 28, for the first-ever US criminal charge for such a fraud.
In April 2023, the brothers allegedly manipulated pending transactions to divert $25 million in just 12 seconds.
US Attorney Damian Williams highlighted the scheme's threat to blockchain integrity. An indictment accuses the brothers of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Anton was arrested in Boston and James in New York. Their lawyers have not commented.
"As we allege, the defendants' scheme calls the very integrity of the blockchain into question," Williams said.
The indictment details how the brothers exploited a vulnerability in MEV-boost software used by Ethereum validators to check transaction validity. After the theft, they allegedly refused to return the funds and took measures to launder and hide the stolen cryptocurrency.