A Manhattan federal jury has convicted Maryland cybersecurity consultant Jonathan Spalletta of computer fraud and money laundering over the theft of nearly $55 million in cryptocurrency from the Uranium Finance exchange, a case prosecutors say shows how digital thieves hide behind technical jargon.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Spalletta exploited weaknesses in Uranium Finance's smart contracts in two attacks in April 2021, draining about $53 million across multiple liquidity pools and forcing the platform to shut down. Jurors deliberated for about two hours before convicting him on all counts after a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff.
Prosecutors said Spalletta laundered the proceeds through the Tornado Cash mixer and converted millions into rare collectibles, Decrypt reports. Agents later seized more than $3 million in rare Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering cards — including a Black Lotus card worth about $500,000 — plus roughly $31 million in cryptocurrency from his Maryland home. U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said Spalletta's crimes cost real people real money and caused an entire crypto platform to collapse.
Spalletta's defense had argued he merely used public smart-contract functions and committed no hacking, but the jury rejected that argument, according to the American Broadcast report on the verdict. He faces up to 10 years for computer fraud and 20 years for money laundering, with sentencing set for February 16.
Beyond the trading cards, prosecutors said Spalletta spent more than $600,000 on an ancient Roman coin commemorating Julius Caesar's assassination and $137,000 on a component from the Wright brothers' aircraft that had been taken to the moon, according to TradingView. The verdict is seen as a landmark for DeFi crime prosecution, showing that on-chain exploits can be traced to real-world convictions years later.