The US Department of Justice arrested brothers, Anton Peraire-Bueno, 24, and James Peraire-Bueno, 28 on charges of money laundering and fraud.

A First of Its Kind Heist

The Bueno Brothers were arrested because they stole $25 million of Ethereum crypto currency in 12 seconds. That’s 12 whole seconds. DOJ reported the brothers plotted their scheme for months even though it only took 12 seconds to execute the theft.

The Peraire-Bueno brothers stole $25 million in Ethereum cryptocurrency through a technologically sophisticated, cutting-edge scheme they plotted for months and executed in seconds.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco

The brothers were MIT students and carried out the plan in April 2023. Prosecutors allege they picked up crypto thieving skills at MIT to execute their, “first-of-its kind wire fraud and money laundering scheme.”

Unsuspecting Victims

According to the indictment, [ they learned the trading behaviors of the victim traders whose cryptocurrency they ultimately stole. As they planned the Exploit, they also took numerous steps to conceal their identities and lay the groundwork to conceal the stolen proceeds, including by setting up shell companies and using multiple private cryptocurrency addresses and foreign cryptocurrency exchanges. After the Exploit, the defendants transferred the stolen cryptocurrency through a series of transactions designed to conceal the source and ownership of the stolen funds.]

Representatives from Ethereum reached out to the Bueno Brothers to recover the stolen funds. The Buenos refused return the ill-gotten crypto. In return, Ethereum got the Feds involved. The DOJ and IRS worked together to identify the Buenos and haul them in.

If found guilty the Bueno Brothers will face 20 years in prison, each.