The New York jury returned its verdict after just over two hours; sentencing is set for February 16.
A New York jury convicted cybersecurity consultant Jonathan Spalletta on Wednesday in a case involving the theft of nearly $55 million in cryptocurrency from Uranium Finance, Bloomberg reported.
Jurors deliberated for just over two hours. US District Judge Jed Rakoff scheduled sentencing for February 16. Spalletta faces up to 20 years in prison on a money-laundering count involving crypto mixers such as Tornado Cash.
Prosecutors accused him of carrying out two attacks in 2021 against Uranium Finance, which shut down after the funds were drained.
Authorities seized about $31 million in cryptocurrency and more than $3 million in rare Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering cards from his Maryland home, according to Bloomberg.
Prosecutors also said Spalletta spent more than $600,000 on a Roman coin commemorating Julius Caesar’s assassination and $137,000 on a fragment of the Wright brothers’ original Flyer carried to the moon by Neil Armstrong.
Defense lawyers argued that he used publicly available smart-contract functions rather than malicious code or false credentials, disputing prosecutors’ characterization of the activity as hacking.
The case is US v. Spalletta, 26-cr-118, in the Southern District of New York.
