In April 2021, Jonathan Spalletta exploited a smart contract vulnerability in the decentralized exchange Uranium Finance. According to the US Department of Justice, he initially extracted $1.4 million. Later, on April 28, he drained approximately $53.3 million from the platform's liquidity pools, leading to the exchange's closure.
Spalletta attempted to obscure the origin of the funds by using the Tornado Cash service. He subsequently spent significant portions of the stolen capital on high-value collectibles. His purchases included a first-edition Pokémon base set for $750,000, a sealed booster box for $257,500, and a rare Magic: The Gathering Black Lotus card for $500,000.
The defendant also acquired historical artifacts, including a Roman coin depicting the assassination of Julius Caesar for $601,545 and a piece of Wright brothers' airplane fabric for $137,500. Authorities successfully seized the Black Lotus card, the moon fabric, and approximately $31 million in cryptocurrency from his residence.
A New York jury convicted the 36-year-old Maryland resident after a two-hour deliberation. Spalletta faces a potential sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Prosecutors rejected his defense, which claimed he merely utilized publicly available platform tools, and characterized his attempt to retain $386,000 as a bug bounty payment as a fraudulent scheme.
