US D.O.J. Charges Canadian National In Multi-Million Crypto Fraud Scheme
Andean Medjedovic, a Canadian national, has been charged with defrauding DeFi protocols KyberSwap and Indexed Finance out of $65 million, a February 3 press release from the United States Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York reveals.
KyberSwap, Indexed Finance Fraudster Charged
According to the Monday press release, the 22-year-old man broke through KyberSwap’s coding to artificially alter the prices within the protocol’s liquidity pools.
“Medjedovic then calculated precise combinations of trades that would cause the KyberSwap AMM to “glitch,” in his words, allowing him to steal tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from the liquidity pools,’ the United States Attorney’s Office states.
Shortly after the hack, Medjedovic attempted to extort KyberSwap’s developers for control of the platform and its DAO, ultimately stealing $48.8 million worth of coins from the crypto collective.
The purported Canadian con man then moved to launder the stolen digital assets through bridge protocols while utilizing crypto mixing services to obfuscate the source of the illicit funds.
In an October 2021 incident, Medjedovic manipulated prices on Indexed Finance’s index pools using borrowed cryptocurrencies, resulting in over $16.5 million being drained from investors.
The following year, the now-indicted Medjedovic conspired with an unnamed accomplice to launder the pocketed funds through fraudulent crypto exchange accounts while further hiding their origins through the use of a crypto mixer.
“Hackers can at times be painted in a flattering light by pop culture, some admiring their skills and acumen,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Dennehy. “They’re stealing money that isn’t theirs, and they’re breaking the laws of this country.”
“We allege Andean Medjedovic violated several of those laws, and he, along with all the other cyber criminals who believe they’re untouchable will face justice,” he added.
Andean Medjedovic Facing 90 Years Behind Bars
Despite this month’s indictment, The New York Times reports that Medjedovic views himself as a crypto “pirate” and has been at large since 2021.
According to reports, the U.S. Attorney’s Office allegedly believes that the one-time University of Waterloo student is currently on the lam from the charges somewhere outside of the United States.
Medjedovic has been charged with one count of money laundering, one count of money laundering conspiracy, one count of wire fraud, one count of attempted Hobbs Act extortion, and one count of unauthorized damage to a protected computer. In total, he faces up to nine decades in prison.
