Two brothers who studied mathematics and computer engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the most important universities in the US and the world, completed a $25 million Ethereum blockchain heist, but were caught.
“First of its kind…”
While the US Department of Justice made an official statement on the subject, it also praised the two brothers! Anton Peraire-Bueno, 24, and James Pepaire-Bueno, 28, were indicted for attempted wire fraud and money laundering. The ministry said that the duo had devised a sophisticated robbery scheme, that they had worked for months on their plan, and that they both had advanced degrees in mathematics and computer engineering. It also said that such a style of attack and robbery had never been seen before, calling it “the first of its kind”.
“This is a new type of attack”
So how did two brothers steal $25 million in cryptocurrency from the Ethereum network? Although the Ministry did not provide detailed information on the subject, it was written that the brothers “manipulated the protocols on the Ethereum network with their special skills”.
Damian Williams, the New York District Attorney, who is well known in the cryptocurrency world and whose name has been heard many times in cases, said:
“From the moment the two brothers started executing their plan, their attack lasted 12 seconds. As a result of the Ethereum blockchain attack, they managed to get 25 million dollars. This was a new type of attack. But as the indictment makes clear, no matter how sophisticated the fraud and no matter how new the systems used to carry it out, law enforcement will pursue them. That is what happened in this case.”
“The two brothers were able to infiltrate pending transactions and withdraw cryptocurrencies, but we continued to pursue these funds and caught the criminals,” said Charge Thomas Fattorusso, a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“They also refused the requests of the real owners of the funds to withdraw their money. Then they took various steps to hide the cryptocurrencies they stole.”
The two brothers face a maximum of 20 years in prison each.