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, according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York on February 3.
KyberSwap, Indexed Finance Fraudster Charged
According to the press release on Monday, the 22-year-old man manipulated KyberSwap’s coding to artificially change 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,” states the United States Attorney’s Office.
Shortly after the hack, Medjedovic tried 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 alleged Canadian con man then proceeded to launder the stolen digital assets through bridge protocols while using crypto mixing services to hide the source of the illicit funds.
In an incident in October 2021, 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 stolen funds through fraudulent crypto exchange accounts while further concealing their origins with the use of a crypto mixer.
“Hackers can sometimes be portrayed favorably by popular culture, with some admiring their skills and acumen,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Dennehy. “They are stealing money that does not belong to them, and they are breaking the laws of this country.”
“We allege that Andean Medjedovic violated several of those laws, and he, along with all other cyber criminals who believe they are untouchable, will face justice,” he added.
Andean Medjedovic Facing 90 Years Behind Bars
Despite the recent indictment, The New York Times reports that Medjedovic sees himself as a crypto “pirate” and has been on the run since 2021.
According to reports, the U.S. Attorney’s Office allegedly believes that the former University of Waterloo student is currently evading 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.