US authorities have unsealed an indictment against Jonathan Spalletta, a Maryland resident accused of hacking Uranium Finance, a defunct decentralized finance platform that lost over $54 million in two exploits in 2021.
Spalletta exploited smart contracts to steal funds, leading to the platform's shutdown. The first hack on April 8, 2021, netted $1.4 million, with a partial recovery after a private deal with the attacker.
The second, larger breach on April 28, 2021, saw a hacker steal $53.3 million in BTC, ETH, and U92 tokens. The stolen funds were allegedly spent on collectibles including Pokémon cards and Roman coins.
Spalletta surrendered and is facing up to 30 years in prison for computer fraud and money laundering charges.
In 2021, total crypto theft exceeded $2.6 billion, including a $610 million Poly Network hack where the attacker returned most funds.
Authorities seized $31 million in cryptocurrency linked to the case, though details remain undisclosed.