Canadian man allegedly stole $65M in crypto, faces 90 years in prison

Article content

A Canadian man who allegedly stole $65 million worth of cryptocurrency could face up to 90 years in an American prison if convicted.

According to prosecutors, Andean Medjedovic was able to withdraw millions of dollars of investor funds from cryptocurrency platforms KyberSwap and Indexed Finance from 2021 to 2023. He has not yet been apprehended by authorities, the New York Times reported.

Article content

The Office of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Eastern District of New York’s U.S. Attorney’s Office released statements about Medjedovic on Monday.

“Criminals like the defendant who take advantage of new technologies to harm investors will be held accountable no matter where in the world they carry out their schemes,” said U.S. attorney John Durham.

On Monday, the indictment against the 22-year-old was unsealed. It was filed in Brooklyn on Dec. 30.

It said that Medjedovic was a citizen of Canada and resided outside of the United States. It detailed his alleged “carefully planned” exploitation of the “vulnerabilities in the automated smart contracts” used by KyberSwap and Indexed Finance.

“To further his fraudulent schemes, Medjedovic borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars in digital tokens, which he used to engage in deceptive trading that he knew would cause the protocols’ smart contracts to falsely calculate key variables,” according to the indictment. “Through his deceptive trades, Medjedovic was able to, and did, withdraw millions of dollars of investor funds from the protocols at artificial prices, rendering the victims’ investments essentially worthless.”

Article content

Article content

The indictment revealed some of Medjedovic’s thoughts on his alleged crimes, seemingly making light of them. Around October 2021, in an online message, he said: “I did something very cool but accidentally doxxed myself in the process. I may be on the run forever now … Need some advice about becoming a pirate.” Doxxing is when identifying information about a person is published online.

As well as the alleged cryptocurrency theft, Medjedovic allegedly tried to launder the proceeds from KyberSwap, “including through ‘bridge’ protocols used to transfer cryptocurrency from one blockchain to another, and through a cryptocurrency ‘mixer’ used to conceal the source of digital assets,” per the news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“After one bridge protocol froze several of his transactions, Medjedovic agreed to pay an undercover law enforcement agent posing as a software developer approximately $80,000 to circumvent the bridge protocol’s restrictions and release approximately $500,000 in stolen cryptocurrency,” it said.

He is also accused of laundering proceeds from Indexed Finance with a co-conspirator.

Article content

Medjedovic has been charged with one count of wire fraud, one count of attempted Hobbs Act extortion, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and one count of money laundering. Each of those charges carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison. He is also charged with one count of unauthorized damage to a protected computer, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

If convicted of all charges, he could face up to 90 years in prison.

“Hackers can at times be painted in a flattering light by pop culture, some admiring their skills and acumen. They’re stealing money that isn’t theirs, and they’re breaking the laws of this country,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Dennehy, adding that “(Medjedovic), along with all the other cyber criminals who believe they’re untouchable, will face justice.”

Medjedovic was involved in a Canadian lawsuit several years ago.

In 2021, a company accused Medjedovic of taking “$15 million in digital assets and has them stored in a wallet that he controls,” according to Ontario court documents. The company, Cicada 137 LLC, held cryptocurrency tokens on behalf of a small number of investors of the Indexed Finance facility, per law publication CanLII Connects.

Article content

Cicada filed a lawsuit against Medjedovic, alleging that he used “formidable mathematical prowess to devise and unleash a complex computer attack against Index Finance and essentially induced it to send him $15 million in others’ cryptocurrency tokens.”

Medjedovic earned a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Waterloo by the time he was 19, per Ontario court documents.

An order was granted to allow a search for evidence, such as passwords, linked to Medjedovic’s alleged theft. Authorities conducted the search at the home of Medjedovic’s parents, where he had previously been living. However, his parents said he had moved out, taking his computer and phone with him. They did not know where he was.

Other than one video conference call for a hearing in 2022, Medjedovic has not attended other hearings.

He was found to be in contempt of court. A warrant was issued for his arrest.

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

Article content