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How math geniuses became cybercriminals in 1.5 years.
The US Department of Justice has charged two brothers with manipulating the Ethereum blockchain and stealing $25 million worth of cryptocurrency in just 12 seconds as part of a fraudulent scheme.
Brothers Anton Perair-Bueno (24) and James Pepair-Bueno (28) manipulated the transaction verification process on the Ethereum blockchain by accessing pending private transactions, altering them, taking possession of victims ' cryptocurrency, and rejecting requests for a refund of stolen funds. Instead of returning it, the criminals took measures to conceal illegal income.
The prosecution alleges that the brothers studied the behavior of their victims in the market since December 2022, preparing for an attack and taking measures to conceal their identities and stolen funds. They used several cryptocurrency addresses, foreign exchanges, and set up shell companies. After the attack, the defendants moved the stolen assets through a series of transactions to hide their source and owner.
During the preparation and execution of the attack, the brothers, among other things, took the following steps:
During the entire process, the brothers also searched the Internet for information about carrying out an attack, hiding their participation in the operation of Ethereum, laundering criminal proceeds through exchanges with low verification requirements, hiring lawyers with experience in cryptocurrency, studying extradition procedures and crimes described in the indictment.
It is noted that those arrested studied computer science and mathematics at "one of the most prestigious universities in the world", and the entire process of the robbery took 12 seconds.
The brothers were arrested in Boston (Anton Perair-Bueno) and New York (James Pepair-Bueno), and the court charges them with fraud using electronic means of communication, conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. If convicted, each of the brothers faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.
The US Department of Justice has charged two brothers with manipulating the Ethereum blockchain and stealing $25 million worth of cryptocurrency in just 12 seconds as part of a fraudulent scheme.
Brothers Anton Perair-Bueno (24) and James Pepair-Bueno (28) manipulated the transaction verification process on the Ethereum blockchain by accessing pending private transactions, altering them, taking possession of victims ' cryptocurrency, and rejecting requests for a refund of stolen funds. Instead of returning it, the criminals took measures to conceal illegal income.
The prosecution alleges that the brothers studied the behavior of their victims in the market since December 2022, preparing for an attack and taking measures to conceal their identities and stolen funds. They used several cryptocurrency addresses, foreign exchanges, and set up shell companies. After the attack, the defendants moved the stolen assets through a series of transactions to hide their source and owner.
During the preparation and execution of the attack, the brothers, among other things, took the following steps:
- They created a series of Ethereum validators, hiding their identities through shell companies, intermediary cryptocurrency addresses, foreign exchanges, and a network to increase privacy.;
- We conducted a series of test transactions, so-called "baits", to identify variables that are most likely to attract MEV bots that have become victims of exploitation;
- Identified and exploited a vulnerability in the MEV-Boost relay code that led to premature disclosure of the full content of the proposed block;
- They rearranged the proposed block in their favor and published it on the Ethereum blockchain, which led to the theft of about $25 million worth of cryptocurrency from traders.
During the entire process, the brothers also searched the Internet for information about carrying out an attack, hiding their participation in the operation of Ethereum, laundering criminal proceeds through exchanges with low verification requirements, hiring lawyers with experience in cryptocurrency, studying extradition procedures and crimes described in the indictment.
It is noted that those arrested studied computer science and mathematics at "one of the most prestigious universities in the world", and the entire process of the robbery took 12 seconds.
The brothers were arrested in Boston (Anton Perair-Bueno) and New York (James Pepair-Bueno), and the court charges them with fraud using electronic means of communication, conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. If convicted, each of the brothers faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.
