- The U.S. government asked a federal judge to reject an amicus brief from the DeFi Education Fund while a motion to dismiss is pending in the case against two brothers accused in a $25 million Ethereum exploit.
- Interim U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton told the court the brief repeats legal arguments already decided and offers no unique information.
- The trial ended in a November mistrial; prosecutors have asked for a retrial in late February or early March 2026.
- Coin Center previously filed an amicus brief during the criminal trial; prosecutors opposed its acceptance as well.
In a Tuesday filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Interim U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton asked Judge Jessica Clarke not to accept an amicus brief from the DeFi Education Fund while the court considers a motion to dismiss the indictment against brothers Anton and James Peraire‑Bueno. The brothers are accused of participating in a roughly $25 million exploit on the Ethereum blockchain.
“Detached from the trial record, the brief merely recites legal arguments already rejected by this Court,” Clayton wrote, and he added: “Here, where the Court has already ruled on the legal issues presented in the amicus brief and DEF does not offer any unique information relevant to the pending motion before the Court, DEF’s submission is not likely to aid the Court’s consideration of the particular issues [over a motion to acquit].”
The case produced a mistrial in November after jurors could not reach agreement. Prosecutors asked the court to schedule a retrial “as soon as practicable in late February or early March 2026.”
The indictment alleges the brothers used automated maximal extractable value (MEV) bots in the exploit. MEV is the profit that can be captured by reordering, including, or excluding transactions within a blockchain block.
A draft brief from the DeFi Education Fund filed Dec. 19 backed the motion to acquit or dismiss, saying the case has “broader implications” for the industry. “[P]rosecutions like this one bring ambiguity and fear to software developers, chilling participation in DeFi and driving participants abroad,” the draft said, and “The DOJ should not get ahead of prospective lawmaking by bringing indictments based on ill-fitting interpretations of existing law, which will stifle growth by sowing confusion about the governing rules.”
The brothers originally faced counts including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to receive stolen property, each carrying potential sentences of up to 20 years if convicted and retried on the same charges.
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