Maryland Resident Charged with Hacking Uranium Finance Cryptocurrency Exchange, 2026/03/31 12:30:13

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged 36-year-old Maryland resident Jonathan Spalletta with hacking the decentralized cryptocurrency exchange Uranium Finance. He faces a potential sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

According to the indictment filed on March 30 in the Southern District of New York, Spalletta is linked to a series of attacks on the platform that began in 2021. He has been charged with computer fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years, as well as money laundering, which could result in up to 20 years of imprisonment.

The prosecution alleges that he repeatedly exploited vulnerabilities in smart contracts to gain access to user funds, ultimately leading to the exchange’s shutdown.

The first hack, investigators claim, occurred in April 2021. Spalletta executed a series of transaction manipulations to create the illusion of entitlement to increased rewards. As a result, he withdrew approximately $1.4 million, depleting the liquidity pool.

A few weeks later, according to the prosecution, he exploited another vulnerability and accessed $53.3 million. Following this, the platform ceased operations due to a lack of liquidity.

The investigation asserts that he laundered the stolen funds and spent them on expensive purchases. This includes collectible cards from Pokemon and Magic, as well as other items, such as a piece of fabric from a Wright brothers’ airplane that had been on the Moon with astronaut Neil Armstrong.

In February, U.S. authorities reported the seizure of cryptocurrency worth $31 million related to the hack in April 2021.