Unprecedented fraud in the US calls into question the safety of cryptocurrencies. Two brothers, who studied at one of the most important universities in the USA, were accused of theft 25 million dollars (€23 million) in cryptocurrencies in 12 seconds, breaking Ethereum’s security “code”. They face more than 20 years in prison each if convicted.

The reason for them Anton Peraire-Bueno24 years old, and o James Peraire-Bueno, 28, who are accused of wire fraud and money laundering. The US Department of Justice announced that this is the first robbery of its kind.

Prosecutors also said the brothers, who allegedly studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), carried out the fraud in April 2023, as reported by the BBC.

“The Peraire-Bueno brothers stole $25 million in Ethereum cryptocurrency via of a technologically advanced design that they planned for months and executed in seconds,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

They added that agents from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) were instrumental in uncovering the “first-of-its-kind fraud and money laundering scheme”.

Prosecutors allege that the two perpetrators used “extremely specialized skills” that they learned at “one of the most famous universities in the world” to “break” the process that platforms like Ethereum have for validating cryptocurrency transactions.

The brothers studied mathematics and computer science at MIT, according to reports. “The plan of the defendants calls into question the very integrity of the blockchain”US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement Wednesday, referring to the public ledger that records crypto payments.

The brothers allegedly ripped off Ethereum traders by fraudulently gaining access to pending private transactions, then altered the transactions to obtain their victims’ cryptocurrency. The procedure was necessary only a few seconds to run.

When confronted by an Ethereum representative, the brothers refused to return the funds, according to officials. and took steps to launder and hide their stolen profits.

Prosecutors note that this is the first time such a “novel” form of fraud has been prosecuted.