Mistrial in the $25M Ethereum Heist: MIT Brothers’ High-Stakes Crypto Trial Ends in Deadlock
In a dramatic close to a four-week courtroom saga blending blockchain tech, white-collar crime, and jury exhaustion, U.S. District Judge Jessica G.L. Clarke declared a mistrial on November 7, 2025, in the fraud trial of MIT-educated brothers James Peraire-Bueno and Anton Peraire-Bueno. The siblings, accused of orchestrating a lightning-fast $25 million cryptocurrency theft from the Ethereum network, walked free—for now—after jurors confessed they were too “emotionally exhausted” to reach a verdict. This outcome marks the third federal mistrial this year in major digital asset cases, highlighting the challenges of prosecuting crypto schemes in an evolving regulatory landscape under the Trump administration’s more lenient stance on the industry.
The Heist: A 12-Second Exploit That Shocked the Crypto World
The case stemmed from an April 2023 incident where the brothers allegedly exploited a vulnerability in Ethereum’s Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) protocols—a system that orders and validates blockchain transactions. Prosecutors painted a picture of premeditated fraud: For months, the Peraire-Buenos, using pseudonyms “Snoopy” and “Curious Rabbit,” built custom bots to manipulate the network. In a mere 12 seconds, they intercepted three victims’ pending trades, front-running them to siphon $25 million in cryptocurrency straight into their wallets. This “sandwich attack”—a tactic where bots place trades before and after a target’s transaction to profit from price swings—was described as a “first-of-its-kind” assault on Ethereum’s integrity, the public ledger underpinning decentralized finance (DeFi).
The brothers, both math and computer science whizzes—James, 29, with a master’s from MIT; Anton, 25, a recent undergrad alum—faced three felony counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Each carried up to 20 years in prison. Indicted in May 2024 under the Biden DOJ, the case pressed forward despite Trump’s crypto-friendly policies, which have deprioritized enforcement against innovative (if aggressive) trading.
The Trial: Tech Jargon, Tearful Juries, and Blurred Lines
The Manhattan federal trial, starting October 14, 2025, featured weeks of dense testimony from blockchain experts, FBI agents, and the brothers themselves. Prosecutors argued the siblings made “repeated misrepresentations” by programming their bots to lie about transaction details, deceiving the network and victims. Defense attorney Sabrina Shroff countered that it was “fair game” in crypto’s unregulated Wild West—using open-source tools for MEV extraction, a common (if controversial) practice among “true nerds” like her clients. No laws explicitly banned their method at the time, they claimed, shifting blame to the victims for poor trade security.
Jurors, a mix of five men and seven women, deliberated for three days starting November 4. Their ordeal peaked on Friday: A note signed by all 12 described “sleepless nights,” half the panel “breaking down crying,” and zero progress toward unanimity. “We are emotionally exhausted and desperate to decide,” they wrote, citing struggles with the law’s application to the undisputed facts. One juror later told prosecutors outside court: “There was markedly little debate about the facts… It was understanding the law.” Judge Clarke, noting no hope for resolution even by Monday, dismissed them at 7 p.m., ending the trial without prejudice—meaning prosecutors can retry.
Fallout: Retrial Looms Amid Broader Crypto Justice Struggles
As of November 9, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York hasn’t confirmed retry plans, but legal experts expect one, given the case’s novelty and the DOJ’s $25 million forfeiture stake. The brothers, released on bail since their 2023 arrest, remain free and declined comment through counsel. Their saga has sparked X buzz, with users debating crypto’s “gray zones”: One post called it a “shocker exposing blockchain vulnerabilities,” while another quipped, “Justice in crypto is still a gray zone—even when tech geniuses are on trial.”
This mistrial joins two others in 2025: August’s deadlock in the $1 billion Tornado Cash money-laundering case against Roman Storm, and a separate multimillion-dollar fraud flop. Contrast that with wins like October’s record $15 billion Bitcoin seizure in a Brooklyn investment scam. As Ethereum evolves (post-Merge upgrades have since patched similar flaws), the case underscores tensions: Is aggressive MEV innovation or theft? Trump’s SEC Chair nominee Paul Atkins has signaled lighter touch, potentially chilling future probes.
For the Peraire-Buenos, it’s a temporary reprieve in a high-tech thriller that could redefine crypto liability. Watch for retrial news—until then, their 12-second score stands as a testament to brains over brawn in DeFi’s frontier.