‘Massive overstep’: mistrial declared for ‘MEV Brothers’ accused of $25 million fraud on Ethereum
A mistrial was declared for the Peraire-Bueno brothers, accused of a $25 million Ethereum MEV-Boost exploit, as the jury could not agree on applying the law.Summary
A four-week federal trial against MIT-educated brothers Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, accused of orchestrating a $25 million fraud on Ethereum via an alleged exploit of MEV-Boost software, ended in a mistrial. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on how to apply existing law to the case, which prosecutors called a first-of-its-kind scheme involving wire fraud and money laundering.
The brothers allegedly used a "sandwich attack" after "poisoning" a block to gain insight into other traders' activity, netting $25 million in 12 seconds. Their defense argued their actions were fair play within the competitive, adversarial space of MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) operations on Ethereum.
Peter Van Valkenburgh of Coin Center supported the brothers, arguing that prosecuting them would chill participation in permissionless networks, as validators are expected to maximize profits. He called the prosecution a "massive overstep." The mistrial leaves the three charges pending, giving SDNY prosecutors the option to drop the case or retry the brothers, which Van Valkenburgh suggests would signal an aggressive push by the SDNY to assert jurisdiction over blockchain activities.
(Source：The Block)