Cryptocurrency fraudster suspected of $ 50 million hack detained

The US has filed charges against a Maryland resident suspected of hacking the decentralized exchange Uranium Finance in 2021. Back then, hackers withdrew more than $ 50 million, forcing the platform to shut down. This was reported by the US Department of Justice.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, 36-year-old Jonathan Spalletti of Rockville is charged with computer fraud and money laundering. The investigation has linked him to the February seizure of about $ 31 million in cryptocurrency, marking the first time that the long-running DeFi case has been officially linked to a specific suspect.

Investigators allege that Spalletta first exploited a vulnerability in Uranium Finance’s reward mechanism on April 8, 2021, stealing about $ 1.4 million. He later negotiated a fictitious «bug bounty» deal that allowed him to keep $ 386,000. In correspondence with his partner, he called his actions a «cryptocurrency robbery.»

According to the prosecutor’s office, he laundered the money through a series of transactions, including using a Tornado Cash mixer, and then spent it on expensive collectibles. The purchases include a Black Lotus card from Magic: The Gathering for $ 500,000, 18 sealed Alpha booster packs for $ 1.5 million, first editions of Pokémon for more than $ 1 million, and a Roman Eid Mar coin commemorating the assassination of Julius Caesar for $ 601,500.

Spalletta voluntarily surrendered to the authorities on Monday, March 30, and is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Manhattan.