Jury Convicts Uranium Finance Hacker in $54.7 Million Theft

A Manhattan federal jury convicted cybersecurity consultant Jonathan Spalletta of computer fraud and money laundering for two 2021 attacks on Uranium Finance that extracted approximately $54.7 million in cryptocurrency.

The first attack, on April 8, 2021, took about $1.4 million. A second attack on April 28 affected 26 liquidity pools and extracted approximately $53.3 million, forcing the decentralized exchange to shut down.

The money-laundering conviction carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The computer-fraud count carries a maximum of 10 years.

Authorities seized cryptocurrency worth approximately $31 million on Feb. 24, 2025, valued at the time. Prosecutors said Spalletta moved funds through Tornado Cash and used some of the proceeds to buy collectibles, including a $500,000 Black Lotus trading card and $601,545 in ancient Roman coins.

Uranium Finance allowed users to deposit and trade cryptocurrency through liquidity pools. The attacks centered on vulnerabilities in its smart contracts, which govern transactions on decentralized platforms.