Not all graduates are destined for great deeds, however, as two former students made clear earlier this year when they were arrested for allegedly stealing an estimated $25 million in a lightning-fast crypto heist, Business Insider writes.
The first fraud of its kind
Brothers Anton and James Peraire-Bueno were recently charged in federal court with conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering in what prosecutors call a “first of its kind” financial fraud.
At the start of the trial, which began this week, prosecutors described the heist as a “massive bait-and-switch scam,” carried out using automated trading bots to lure other bots into a fraudulent transaction, Index.hr reports.
The government claims the brothers used a software bug to trick crypto bots into investing millions in their fake currency.
A 12-second heist
“In 12 seconds, the defendants defrauded their victims of $25 million,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Nees told jurors. “The defendant’s goal was to rob other people,” he continued, adding that the brothers “laughed at tricking their victims into buying sh**coins based on their fraudulent offer.”
Attempt to cover one’s tracks
Before executing their scheme, the duo made sure to cover their tracks on Google, where they searched for terms like “how to launder crypto,” “best crypto lawyers,” “fake Ethereum address database” and — just in case — “money laundering statute of limitations.”
The pair were arrested in May, following a two-year federal investigation that uncovered a months-long conspiracy to manipulate the protocols used to validate transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, a cryptocurrency second only to Bitcoin in total market capitalization.
Defense: An innovative strategy, not a crime
Lawyers for the Peraire-Bueno brothers, on the other hand, argue that the duo simply applied a new trading strategy in a financial environment where “economic incentives drive party behavior,” since blockchain is an “unregulated market.”
According to Decrypt, defense attorney Patrick Looby argues that “there is no central authority” or “government regulations” that oversee the Ethereum blockchain — which, after all, is the whole appeal of the cryptocurrency.
A case that will set a precedent
Given the stakes, the case is likely to set an important legal precedent, deciding the limits — or lack thereof — of the US government’s power to regulate the crypto market, which is currently worth more than $3.5 trillion.
(Vijesti.ba)
