Mistrial for MIT-Trained Brothers Accused in 12-Second Crypto ‘Heist’
A Manhattan federal judge on Friday declared a mistrial in the case of two MIT-trained brothers accused of fraud for a 12-second transaction on the Ethereum blockchain that netted them $25 million.
The judge ended the trial of James and Anton Peraire-Bueno at 7 p.m. after the jury’s five men and seven women pleaded in a lengthy note for deliberations to end, saying the case had become an emotional strain and they could not reach a unanimous verdict.
Half of the jurors “spontaneously broke down in tears” on Thursday, and some jurors had suffered “multiple nights of sleeplessness” during the three days they deliberated, they told the judge in the note.
“We are unanimously of the belief that we are not making any…
