⚖️ MIT Brothers Charged in 12-Second, $25M Crypto Heist

Author: Anushka Basu

Published: Aug 26, 2025

📌 Key Points

Defendants: Anton & James Peraire-Bueno (MIT graduates).

Allegations: Stole $25M in ETH via Ethereum MEV-boost exploit.

Timeline: Heist allegedly lasted under 13 seconds (April 2023).

Charges: Conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering → each faces up to 20 years.

🛠️ How the Exploit Worked

Ethereum’s MEV-boost system lets external builders submit transaction bundles.

Prosecutors allege the brothers:

Intercepted private blockchain transactions.

Reordered them for profit, siphoning $25M instantly.

Used technical expertise to bypass fairness in MEV.

🏛️ Legal Proceedings

Filed motion to exclude Google searches like:

“top crypto lawyers”

“wire fraud statute of limitations”

Searches were done after the alleged fraud → defense argues this was just legal research, not proof of intent.

Defense also asked to exclude:

News articles

Tweet screenshot by Samczsun (researcher who flagged the incident)

Judge Jessica G.L. Clarke has not ruled yet on admissibility.

📉 Context & Reactions

Prosecutors call it the first known manipulation of Ethereum’s MEV-boost.

Legal experts: post-crime searches ≠ strong evidence of premeditation.

Samczsun’s last notable post (Nov 15, 2023) was about consumer safety concerns.

#CryptoNews #Ethereum #Heist #MIT #Blockchain #ETH

$ETH