New York Jury Deadlocks in $25M Ethereum Fraud Case Against MIT Graduates

New York Jury Deadlocks in $25M Ethereum Fraud Case Against MIT Graduates

Federal prosecutors plan to retry brothers Anton and James Peraire-Bueno in 2026 after a mistrial in the $25M Ethereum sandwich attack case.

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Fact Check
The statement is fully supported by a complete consensus across all ten provided primary sources, which are themselves highly authoritative and relevant. Each key element of the statement is independently and consistently verified:1. **Jury Deadlocked in New York:** Multiple specialized legal news outlets, including Law360 and the New York Law Journal, explicitly state that the trial ended in a mistrial because the jury was "deadlocked" and could not reach a verdict. The location is confirmed as New York.2. **$25 Million Ethereum Theft:** Every source corroborates the $25 million figure. Reports from Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, and The Block specifically identify the cryptocurrency involved as Ethereum.3. **Fraud Case & MIT Graduates:** The nature of the case is described as fraud and a heist, with one source specifying "wire fraud conspiracy charges." The fact that the defendants were "MIT-educated brothers" or "MIT graduates" is a central, consistently reported detail in nearly every source, including Reuters, Bloomberg, and Business Insider.The evidence is of exceptional quality, with no contradictions. The unanimity across top-tier news agencies and specialized legal and financial publications provides a high degree of confidence in the statement's accuracy.
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Summary

Federal prosecutors in the United States will retry MIT graduates Anton and James Peraire-Bueno in February 2026 over allegations they stole $25 million via Ethereum sandwich attacks. A previous four-week Manhattan federal trial ended in mistrial when a jury, after three days of deliberation, failed to reach a verdict. The defense argued their actions were legitimate market strategy, but both men still face wire fraud and money laundering charges.

Terms & Concepts
  • Ethereum blockchain: A decentralized platform that enables secure peer-to-peer transactions and execution of smart contracts.
  • MEV-Boost: A software framework that allows Ethereum validators to outsource block construction to specialized builders, potentially enabling greater extraction of transaction value.
  • Sandwich attack: A trading exploit in which an attacker places transactions before and after a victim’s transaction to profit from price manipulation.