A Manhattan jury found 36-year-old Jonathan Spalletta guilty of computer fraud and money laundering. The charges stem from two separate hacks of the decentralized exchange Uranium Finance conducted in 2021. Spalletta faces a maximum sentence of 10 years for computer fraud and 20 years for money laundering.
The first incident occurred on April 8, 2021, when the hacker exploited a smart contract to withdraw $1.4 million. He subsequently negotiated with the platform to retain $386 000 as a fake bug bounty. On April 28, 2021, a second exploit involving liquidity pool calculation errors resulted in the theft of $53.3 million, forcing the exchange to shut down.
Spalletta laundered the stolen funds through the Tornado Cash mixer. He used the proceeds to purchase high-value collectibles, including a Black Lotus card for $500 000 and 18 sealed Alpha Booster packs for $1.5 million. His other acquisitions included a Pokémon base set for $750 000 and a Roman coin for $601 545.
Authorities seized various items from Spalletta's residence, including the Black Lotus card and a piece of fabric from the Wright brothers' airplane valued at $137 500. In February 2025, investigators also recovered cryptocurrency linked to the hacks worth approximately $31 million. Victims are currently being urged to contact Homeland Security Investigations.
