ETH MEV Brothers’ Trial Ends in Mistrial later than Jury Deadlock
Judge Declares Mistrial in $25 Million Case
A New York jury failed to reach a verdict in the trial of Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, two MIT-educated brothers accused of fraud and money laundering tied to a 2023 ETH exploit that siphoned roughly $25 million in digital assets. U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke declared a mistrial on Friday later than jurors said they could not agree on a verdict, according to Inner City Press.
The decision followed a three-week trial in Manhattan federal court that centered on the brothers’ alleged use of maximal extractable value (MEV) bots — automated programs designed to profit from how transactions are ordered on blockchain networks. The laws apply to blockchain-based trading tactics.
Investor Takeaway
Inside the MEV Scheme
Prosecutors said the Peraire-Buenos used to carry out a “bait and switch” operation that misled other blockchain users into unfavorable trades. According to the government, the exploit took only 12 seconds but was the product of by the brothers.
“Bait and switch is not a trading strategy,” prosecutors told the jury, as reported by Inner City Press. “It is fraud. It is cheating. It is rigging the system. They pretended to be a legitimate MEV-Boost Block confirmer.” The prosecution argued that by masquerading as trusted Block confirmers, the brothers manipulated transaction order .
The defense countered that the brothers’ tactics fell within the bounds of open blockchain competition, likening the practice to exploiting inefficiencies in financial markets rather than deceiving participants. “This is like stealing a base in baseball,” defense counsel said. “If there’s no fraud, there’s no conspiracy, there’s no money laundering.”
Legal Uncertainty Around MEV
The mistrial underscores the uncertainty regulators and courts face in classifying complex onchain strategies like MEV extraction. While traditional front-running and spoofing are well-defined in securities law, decentralized networks lack centralized intermediaries — making intent and deception harder to prove.
MEV bots are widely used on to profit from transaction sequencing, with some earning millions of dollars daily. But the line between competitive arbitrage and unlawful manipulation remains blurry. Legal scholars say the Peraire-Bueno case could influence how prosecutors approach similar exploits in the future.
Investor Takeaway
What Comes Next
The Department of Justice has not said whether it will viewk a retrial. Legal experts expect the government to review jury feedback before deciding. The case drew attention across the crypto sector, where MEV activity remains a contentious topic for developers, traders, and regulators alike.
While the Peraire-Bueno brothers walk free for now, the mistrial leaves a key question unresolved: when does exploiting blockchain mechanics cross the line from aggressive trading into criminal fraud?
