MIT Bros, MEV Bots, and $25M: The Crypto Heist That’ll Make You 😭😂

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So, these two MIT geniuses—Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, aka the Peraire-Bueno Bros—thought they could outsmart the Ethereum blockchain and walk away with $25 million. Spoiler alert: they couldn’t. A judge just laughed in their faces and denied their plea to dismiss the charges. Why? Because, duh, you can’t just “code” your way out of fraud. 🤷‍♂️

  • MIT-educated brothers Anton and James Peraire-Bueno face crypto fraud charges for allegedly stealing $25 million from ETH traders. 🤑
  • These guys manipulated MEV bots like they were playing a game of chess, but forgot the king was watching. ♟️

According to a U.S. court document, District Judge Jessica Clarke basically told them, “Nice try, but no.” She denied their motion to dismiss fraud charges, saying their argument that the wire fraud statute didn’t apply because their actions were “permitted by the system’s code” was about as solid as a wet paper bag. 🛍️💦

They also whined about being unfairly targeted by victim trading bots. Yeah, because bots totally have personal vendettas. 🤖😒

“Defendants’ motions to dismiss are each DENIED, except with respect to the receiving stolen property charge,” wrote the Judge, probably while sipping her coffee and rolling her eyes. ☕👀

Their bid was denied because of “failure to provide fair notice, failure to allege essential elements, and failure to state the essential facts.” Translation: they forgot to read the room. 📖🤦‍♂️

Initially, the brothers were charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to receive stolen property, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. But hey, they managed to get the stolen property charge dropped by citing a DOJ memo. Small wins, I guess? 🏆🤷‍♂️

Now, they’re set to stand trial in October 2025. Mark your calendars, folks—this is gonna be better than a soap opera. 📅🍿

How did these guys pull off the heist?

In April 2023, Anton and James allegedly used their MIT smarts to manipulate Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) bots and snag $25 million in just 12 seconds. Because, you know, who needs a 9-to-5 when you can code your way to riches? 💻💰

They even set up a company called Pine Needle Inc. as a cover. Subtle, guys. Really subtle. 🌲😏

Their master plan had four steps: bait, block, search, and propagation. They targeted 16 Ethereum validators using 529.5 ETH (around $880,000) and lured bots with “lure transactions.” Because nothing says “trust me” like a transaction that’s too good to be true. 🐟🎣

“As expected, the Victim Traders’ MEV Bots proposed eight bundles that included the Lure Transactions and were submitted to the Builder. For each of these eight bundles, the Victim Traders bought coded front-run trades,” wrote the Judge, probably while facepalming. 🙈

The stolen funds were then laundered through a bank deposit and scattered across eight different crypto addresses. They even used an exchange that didn’t require KYC. Because, you know, anonymity is key when you’re committing a $25 million heist. 🤫🔑

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2025-07-24 12:57