MIT Brothers Accused in $25M Crypto Heist Seek to Block Google Search Evidence

Two MIT-educated brothers accused of stealing $25 million in crypto through a blockchain exploit are pushing to keep their Google search history out of court.

Key Takeaways:

• Anton and James Peraire-Bueno want their Google searches excluded, arguing they reflect legal consultations.
• Prosecutors allege the brothers exploited Ethereum’s MEV-boost system to steal $25 million.
• Each brother faces up to 20 years in prison per count if convicted.

Anton and James Peraire-Bueno filed the motion on Friday in Manhattan federal court, arguing that prosecutors are trying to use ordinary queries as proof of criminal intent.

They said searches for “top crypto lawyers” and “wire fraud statute of limitations” were conducted during privileged consultations with attorneys following the alleged April 2023 exploit.

The brothers claim the searches are “unfairly prejudicial” and have no evidentiary weight without proper context.

U.S. District Judge Jessica G.L. Clarke must now decide whether the searches reflect guilt or routine steps to obtain legal advice.

The brothers were arrested in May 2024 on conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering charges.

Prosecutors say they used their technical expertise to manipulate Ethereum’s MEV-boost system, intercepting private transactions and diverting $25 million in just 12 seconds.

The Department of Justice described it as a “first-of-its-kind manipulation of the Ethereum blockchain.”

Court filings reveal the pair sought legal help immediately after being “threatened by anonymous sandwich attackers” demanding repayment of the funds.

A search for “top crypto lawyers” occurred on the same day as outreach to counsel, according to privilege logs submitted to the court.

Brothers Anton and James Peraire-Bueno arrested for a sophisticated $25M MEV-boost hack on April 2, 2023.https://t.co/O084AoeKrO

Two MIT graduates now facing up to 20 years in prison. Caught laundering stolen crypto and googling how to do it.https://t.co/PTXxN0K1Fp pic.twitter.com/Ad0rACtJkh

The defense argues prosecutors have no witnesses to connect the searches to criminal intent. “The contents of the searches themselves do not show that,” the motion said, adding that any inference of guilt would be “purely speculative.”

The defense also moved to exclude certain news articles as hearsay and asked the court to block a Twitter screenshot of their alleged “false signature,” posted by pseudonymous researcher samczsun, saying prosecutors cannot authenticate the image.

If convicted, Anton and James Peraire-Bueno each face up to 20 years in prison per count in what could become a landmark case for blockchain exploitation and U.S. crypto law.

Earlier this month, decentralized perpetuals exchange GMX announced it would distribute $44 million to fully compensate Arbitrum GLP holders impacted by last month’s $42 million exploit.

Compensation will be made in GLV tokens, with additional rewards for users who hold them for three months. The payout includes recovered funds and $2 million from GMX’s treasury.

The July 9 breach stemmed from a reentrancy vulnerability in GMX V1’s contract structure, which allowed the attacker to manipulate assets-under-management calculations and drain the GLP pool.

The exploit was tied to the way V1 handled pricing across separate contracts, a flaw corrected in GMX V2. The attacker later returned 90% of the stolen funds after GMX offered a white-hat bounty.

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