Alleged $54M Uranium Finance Hacker Faces Up to 30 Years in Prison

US authorities have unsealed an indictment against Maryland resident Jonathan Spalletta, accused of carrying out two separate hacks against Uranium Finance, a decentralized finance platform that lost more than $54 million in April 2021. The charges were announced by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, with US Attorney Jay Clayton stating that exploiting crypto platforms is treated the same as traditional theft.

Spalletta faces one count of computer fraud, carrying a possible sentence of up to 10 years, and one count of money laundering, carrying up to 20 years. He surrendered to authorities and was scheduled to appear before US Magistrate Ona Wang to formally hear the charges.

Two April 2021 Hacks and Use of Stolen Funds

The first hack on April 8, 2021, resulted in a $1.4 million loss, though most funds were later returned except $386,000. A second exploit on April 28 targeted 26 liquidity pools, stealing $53.3 million in Bitcoin, Ether, and U92 tokens. Prosecutors alleged the stolen funds were spent on Pokémon cards, antique Roman coins, and fabric from the Wright brothers’ airplane.

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