Two MIT brothers were arrested and planned for months to "grab" hundreds of millions of yuan in cryptocurrencies on the blockchain

Chengdu Business Daily Red Star News

2024-05-18 12:56Posted on the official account of Red Star News of Chengdu Business Daily, Sichuan

On May 14, local time in the United States, 24-year-old Anton Perel-Bueno and 28-year-old James Perel-Bueno were arrested, and the indictment of the U.S. Department of Justice charged the two with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

▲ Suspect James

"The brothers studied computer science and mathematics at one of the most prestigious universities in the world," the indictment states. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology confirmed in an email that Anton earned a bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering in February 2024, while James earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics in June 2019 and a master's degree in aerospace in June 2021.

▲ Portrait of the suspect Anton

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, the "No. 2 man" in the U.S. Department of Justice, admitted that she was shocked by the brothers' case, "which was carefully planned for months and finally implemented in the blink of an eye." Lisa said that they used very sophisticated cutting-edge technology to steal $25 million (about 180 million yuan) worth of Ethereum cryptocurrency, which is an "unprecedented" new type of case in the United States.

Specifically, the duo tampered with the processes and protocols of the Ethereum blockchain to fraudulently gain access to "pending transactions" (i.e., transactions stuck in the verification process) and ultimately attribute those pending transactions to their own accounts.

However, Lisa said, "We have cracked this unprecedented wire fraud and money laundering scheme." As the cryptocurrency market continues to evolve, we will continue to eradicate fraud, protect victims, and restore public confidence in the cryptocurrency market. ”

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, said that the nature of the case is not only because of the high amount of money involved, but also because the suspect used the professional skills he learned during his education to "tamper with and manipulate the protocol that millions of Ethereum users around the world rely on", leaving users with doubts about the security of the underlying technology of Ethereum smart contracts.

In addition, after one of the victims discovered the behavior of the two, the two not only refused to return the property, but also tried to conceal the source of funds by constantly transferring money to the "trumpet" and setting up a shell company. Under U.S. law, the two men face up to 20 years in prison.

Red Star News reporter Zheng Zhi

Edited by Pan Li and edited by Wei Kongming

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