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Brothers Arrested for Alleged $25 Million Crypto Fraud Scheme: DOJ
Federal authorities have arrested a pair of brothers on charges of carrying out an elaborate plot to steal millions of dollars of cryptocurrency in what officials say it is a one-of-a-kind case.
THE United States Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday charged James Pepaire-Bueno, 28, of New York, and his younger brother, Anton Peraire-Bueno, 24, of Boston, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering money, accusing them of exploiting the etherum blockchain to steal $25 million from unsuspecting traders.
A pair of brothers from New York and Boston were arrested Wednesday on charges of stealing $25 million in Ethereum cryptocurrency.
The unsealed indictment alleges that the brothers studied mathematics and computer science at “one of the most prestigious universities in the country” and exploited the skills developed from their education to gain fraudulent access to pending transactions. The pair are accused of altering those transactions, funneling the cryptocurrency to themselves and using various methods to cover their tracks.
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The Pepaire-Buenos had planned the scheme for months, and the robbery only took about 12 seconds to pull off, authorities said. After the stolen cryptocurrencies were in their possession, the indictment alleges, the brothers refused numerous requests to return the assets.
Federal authorities have charged a pair of brothers from New York and Boston with allegedly exploiting the Ethereum blockchain to steal from victim traders.
US Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York stated that the suspects “allegedly used their specialized skills and education to tamper with and manipulate the protocols relied upon by millions of Ethereum users around the world, and noted that “this alleged scheme was new and had never been been accused before.
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Williams added: “But as the indictment makes clear, no matter how sophisticated the fraud or how novel the techniques used to carry it out, the career prosecutors of this office will be relentless in prosecuting people who attack the integrity of all systems financial”.
The brothers had to separate court appearances Wednesday afternoon in their respective cities, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul G. Levenson for the District of Massachusetts and U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo for the Southern District of New York.
If convicted, they face up to 20 years in federal prison on each charge.
Original article source: Brothers Arrested for Alleged $25 Million Crypto Fraud Scheme: DOJ