US prosecutors are pushing back against efforts to introduce crypto policy arguments in the case of two brothers accused of exploiting Ethereum using maximal extractable value (MEV) bots.
In a Tuesday filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, US prosecutors opposed an amicus curiae — a brief filed by an interested party not directly involved in a case — that could encourage a jury to acquit Anton and James Peraire-Bueno. The two individuals are allegedly behind a $25-million MEV exploit of the Ethereum blockchain in April 2023.
The letter addressed to the federal judge overseeing the case suggested that Coin Center, the cryptocurrency advocacy organization behind the amicus brief, should direct its concerns about digital asset policy through Congress rather than the courts.
“To allow an amicus brief of this type—i.e., arguing that the defendants should be acquitted because of the implications to an industry or to internet users writ large—is to allow the defendants to argue for nullification and is lawless,” said the filing. “The sole concern of the Court […] is whether a reasonable jury could find the defendants guilty based on the evidence adduced at trial. Larger questions of policy are not appropriately heard in this arena.”
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In response to the US government’s letter, lawyers defending the Peraire-Bueno brothers said the Coin Center brief would provide a “unique perspective that will aid the Court” around the prosecutors’ theory of the case.
“Because Ethereum users are engaged in economic activity […], the government’s theory would mean that any trading strategy or engagement with another user with whom a user has an adversarial or competitive relationship (i.e., everybody else) that involves a deviation from the blockchain’s protocol specifications could give rise to federal criminal liability,” said the defense team in a Wednesday filing, adding:
“The government thus far has refused to even defend this breathtaking theory […] which is inconsistent with common sense and Second Circuit precedent.”
Case drawing interest from the industry
Opening arguments in the case against the two brothers kicked off on Oct. 15, more than a year after the pair were indicted on conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to receive stolen property.
The criminal case is centered on the Peraire-Buenos’ use of MEV bots to allegedly remove $25 million worth of crypto in 2023.
A MEV attack occurs when a blockchain validator or trader manipulates the order of transactions within a block to gain an unfair profit.
According to data cited in a July report by the European Securities and Markets Authority, Ethereum-based MEV revenues totaled about $963 million between December 2022 and January 2025, with profits of roughly $417 million.
Because of the potential impact that a guilty verdict and court decisions could have on others in the crypto industry, many industry leaders and advocacy organizations have been monitoring the case. Cointelegraph reached out to a Coin Center representative for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
The US government has claimed the brothers “tricked their victims” by committing a “high-speed bait and switch” to steal the crypto, while defense lawyers argued that the “victims here were sandwich bots,” with the Peraire-Buenos merely using a trading strategy to extract digital assets.
As of Wednesday, the trial entered its 11th day and is expected to continue into November. If found guilty, a judge could sentence the brothers to up to 20 years in prison for each count in the indictment.
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