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Mistrial declared for MIT-educated brothers accused of $25M cryptocurrency heist | Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly

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4 months ago

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Mistrial declared for MIT-educated brothers accused of M cryptocurrency heist | Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
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U.S. District Court Judge Jessica Clarke in Manhattan sent jurors home after they were unable to reach agreement on whether to convict or acquit Anton Peraire-Bueno and James Peraire-Bueno of charges that they carried out a first-of-its-kind wire fraud and money laundering scheme.

The mistrial was confirmed by William Fick, a lawyer for Anton Peraire-Bueno. A spokesperson for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton did not respond to a request for comment.

Both brothers attended Cambridge-based MIT, where prosecutors say they studied computer science and developed the skills they relied on for their trading strategy.

They were indicted in May 2024, before President Donald Trump’s administration came into office, ushering in a new, crypto-friendly approach to enforcement. Despite the shift in priorities, the case against the brothers proceeded to trial.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Nees in his opening statement on Oct. 15 accused the brothers of carrying out a “high-speed bait-and-switch” designed to lure trading bots into a trap and drain the accounts of other cryptocurrency traders.

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Prosecutors said that for months, the Peraire-Bueno brothers plotted to manipulate and tamper with the protocols used to validate transactions for inclusion on the Ethereum blockchain, a public ledger that records each cryptocurrency transaction.

They did so by exploiting a vulnerability in the code of software called MEV-boost that is used by most Ethereum network “validators,” who are responsible for checking that new transactions are valid before they are added to the blockchain, prosecutors said.

“Then they planted a trade that looked like one thing from the outside, but was secretly something else,” Nees told jurors in his opening statement. “Then, just as the defendants planned, the victims took the bait.”

Katherine Trefz, a lawyer for James Peraire-Bueno, countered that the trading strategy they executed was not just novel but legitimate and “consistent with the principles at play in this very competitive trading environment.”

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; editing by Diane Craft)

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Crypto

Millions of dollars in crypto left Iranian exchanges after strikes, researchers say

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8 hours ago

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March 3, 2026

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Millions of dollars in crypto left Iranian exchanges after strikes, researchers say
Outflows from Iranian crypto exchanges spiked in the hours after the U.S. and Israeli ‌strikes on Iran on Saturday, two blockchain analytics companies said, although researchers added it was not possible to be certain what was behind the moves.
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Wisconsin lawmakers crack down on cryptocurrency scams

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21 hours ago

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March 3, 2026

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Wisconsin lawmakers crack down on cryptocurrency scams

MADISON, WI (WTAQ) — A new bipartisan bill is the state legislature is attempting to keep Wisconsinites safe from scammers.

Assembly Bill 968 creates consumer protections around cryptocurrency kiosks—and is aimed at stopping criminals from using crypto-kiosks to steal from victims. It was passed by the assembly last month and is now heading to the senate.

Americans lost over $330 million to scams involving crypto-kiosks in 2025.

As amended; the bill that passed the assembly would:

  • set daily transaction limits at $1,000
  • require cryptocurrency-kiosk operators to provide users with receipts
  • implement consumer-identification measures for every transaction
  • allow scam victims to receive refunds

“This also requires crypto-kiosk operators to be licensed as a money transmitter with the Department of Financial Institutions,” said bill co-author Representative Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah). “Right now there is no state statute with regards to these crypto machines, and there has to be some oversight.”

Over 700 cryptocurrency kiosks are located in convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants, and other locations throughout Wisconsin.

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Detective Kevin Bahl with the Green Bay Police Department says although these scams don’t discriminate, scammers usually target the senior population.

“That’s because they’re the ones with more of the built up funds; that they can lose a significant of money, but we have seen a lot of younger victims too,” said Det. Bahl. “Victims are losing anywhere between a couple thousand dollars, all the way up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

The senate will reconvene beginning the second week of March, where Rep. Kaufert believes they will pass Senate Bill 975. Then the bill will go to the governor for approval by April 1. If approved, the law would likely go into effect around June.

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HSBC Says Lasting Iran Conflict Would Boost Oil, Gold, USD and Hurt Equities

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1 day ago

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March 2, 2026

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HSBC Says Lasting Iran Conflict Would Boost Oil, Gold, USD and Hurt Equities
Rising Iran conflict risks are jolting global markets, with HSBC warning oil shocks, currency swings, and equity volatility hinge on whether supply routes and production are disrupted, shaping inflation expectations and investor risk appetite worldwide. HSBC: Long-Running Conflict Would Reshape FX, Rates, and Equity Leadership Escalating geopolitical tensions are reshaping the global market outlook. Global […]
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