TechFlow reports that U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke for the Southern District of New York announced on August 19 that brothers Anton Peraire-Bueno and James Pepaire-Bueno, accused of stealing $25 million in cryptocurrency using Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) bots, will face criminal trial on October 14, 2025. The two are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the brothers unlawfully obtained $25 million worth of cryptocurrency "within approximately 12 seconds" through a scheme that "called into question the integrity of the blockchain." They allegedly manipulated MEV bots with a series of test transactions to steal cryptocurrency from proposed blocks on the Ethereum blockchain.
The Peraire-Bueno brothers were arrested in May this year and have each been released on a $250,000 bond under travel restrictions. They reportedly refused to return the stolen funds and transferred assets to multiple wallets via shell companies and overseas cryptocurrency exchanges to conceal the proceeds. If convicted, each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
