Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, two brothers charged for his or her alleged involvement in money laundering and fraud related to a $25 million exploit of the Ethereum blockchain, could face a second trial as early as February.
In a lawsuit filed Monday within the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. government lawyers requested that a federal judge schedule a retrial of the Peraire-Bueno brothers “as soon as possible in late February or early March 2026.”
The request got here about three days after a judge invalidated proceedings within the case since the jury was unable to succeed in a verdict.
Source: Courtlistener
The brothers were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to receive stolen property in reference to their role in using maximum extractable value (MEV) bots to take advantage of $25 million in digital assets in 2023.
The case alerted many within the crypto industry to the potential impact of a guilty verdict on Ethereum trading. If the brothers are found guilty on the retrial, they might face many years in prison.
What could change in a second attempt?
The jury took greater than three days to deliberate before telling the judge they were unable to succeed in a verdict. During this time, the jury asked several questions on the clarification of statements made within the testimony given at trial, in addition to the definition of “good faith.”
“Yesterday, half of the jury spontaneously burst into tears, and several other members of the jury reported several nights of insomnia,” said a letter filed for public record on Monday. “Although less concerning, we’ve all endured the financial and psychological hardship of being separated from our work and family for nearly a month.”
As of Wednesday, the judge had not announced a possible retrial date.
