Maryland Man Accused of Stealing $53,300,000 From Decentralized Crypto Exchange, Laundering Funds Through Tornado Cash: DOJ

Maryland Man Charged with Stealing $53 Million from Crypto Exchange

A Maryland man has been accused of stealing over $53 million from a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange and then laundering the proceeds through Tornado Cash, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton has revealed that Jonathan Spalletta, also known as “Cthulhon” and “Jspalletta,” is facing charges of computer fraud and money laundering in connection to two hacks that took place in 2021 at Uranium Finance.

According to prosecutors, Spalletta took advantage of vulnerabilities in Uranium’s smart contracts in April 2021. In the first incident, he manipulated reward mechanisms to siphon off around $1.4 million in cryptocurrency. The second hack involved exploiting another flaw in 26 liquidity pools, resulting in the theft of approximately $53.3 million and the subsequent shutdown of the platform.

Authorities claim that Spalletta then went on to launder the stolen funds through intricate transactions, including utilizing Tornado Cash.

“Jonathan Spalletta is accused of repeatedly hacking smart contracts to steal millions of dollars from others,” Clayton stated, emphasizing the significant financial losses incurred as a result of the scheme.

It is alleged that Spalletta used the illicitly obtained funds to acquire high-value collectibles such as rare trading cards and ancient coins. In February 2025, law enforcement confiscated approximately $31 million in cryptocurrency linked to the case.

At 36 years old, Spalletta could potentially face a maximum of 10 years in prison for computer fraud and up to 20 years for money laundering. It should be noted that these charges are merely allegations, and Spalletta is considered innocent until proven guilty.

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