Anton Peraire-Bueno and James Peraire-Bueno, the brothers who were charged with $25 million theft, are scheduled to face a federal trial in October 2025. The decision on the trial date was announced on August 19, 2024, by Judge Jessica Clarke in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

On May 15, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) charged the two brothers with allegedly carrying out a sophisticated exploit of Ethereum’s maximal extractable value (MEV) bots.

Peraire-Bueno brothers charged with fraud in first-ever MEV bot exploit case

The Peraire-Bueno brothers are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The indictment claims that the attackers, through their Ethereum validators, proposed blocks whose ordering was so malicious that it constituted the crime of wire fraud. According to the charge, the heist was orchestrated in just 12 seconds and compromised the integrity of the Ethereum blockchain itself.

It is reported that the brothers manipulated Ethereum transactions through test transactions, effectively redirecting crypto funds from a proposed block into their possession. The funds were then reportedly concealed through a complex web of shell companies and foreign crypto exchanges, making it almost impossible for authorities to trace and recover the funds.

Legal proceedings and the bond conditions

Following their arrest in May, the Peraire-Bueno brothers were released on $250,000 bonds each with certain travel restrictions while awaiting trial.

If the two are found guilty in October, they could face severe penalties of up to 20 years in prison for each count.

Over the past year, high-profile figures in the industry have faced legal consequences, highlighting the sector’s ongoing issues with fraud and misuse. Still, according to Chainalysis, aggregate illicit activity on-chain has dropped by almost 20% year-to-date. This demonstrates that legitimate activity is growing more quickly than illicit activity. 

However, despite the decline in illicit transactions compared to this time last year, two categories of illicit activity, stolen funds and ransomware, are on the rise. Specifically, stolen funds inflows nearly doubled from $857 million to $1.58 billion, while ransomware inflows rose by approximately 2%, from $449.1 million to $459.8 million. 

The crypto community views the brothers as victims

The case has divided the crypto community with claims that the MEV bots were themselves attempting to defraud the brothers. Still, others say the brothers were wrong for exploiting bad code. Some have also argued that the case sets a dangerous precedent and will lead to full-scale regulation of Ethereum.

The crypto community is watching closely as the trial date approaches. The outcome of the case will have significant implications for blockchain technology’s trust and security.

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