U.S. Prosecutors Charge Canadian Man With $65M Hacks of Indexed Finance, KyberSwap

Andean “Andy” Medjedovic, 22, has been connected the tally from authorities since 2021.

Feb 4, 2025, 3:12 a.m. UTC

U.S. prosecutors person charged a 22-year-old Canadian antheral with stealing a combined $65 cardinal successful crypto done 2 abstracted decentralized concern (DeFi) hacks — the 2021 Indexed Finance exploit and the 2023 KyberSwap hack.

In a newly-unsealed indictment filed successful the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), prosecutors accidental Andean “Andy” Medjedovic was the mastermind down some exploits. Though Medjedovic’s alleged relation successful the KyberSwap exploit was antecedently unknown, helium has publicly admitted to being the Indexed Finance attacker, wiping $16 cardinal from the DeFi level erstwhile helium was inactive a teenager.

Read more: After Stealing $16M, This Teen Hacker Seems Intent connected Testing ‘Code is Law’ successful the Courts

Medjedovic did small to fell his identity arsenic the Indexed Finance hacker due to the fact that helium professed to judge helium wasn’t really doing thing illegal. Another DeFi hacker, Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg, took a akin “code is law” presumption aft his 2022 Mango Markets exploit, claiming that siphoning $110 cardinal from the decentralized speech was just game. A New York assemblage disagreed, finding Eisenberg blameworthy of fraud and marketplace manipulation. He volition beryllium sentenced aboriginal this year, and faces up to 20 years successful prison.

Medjedovic has been connected the tally since December 2021, erstwhile a Canadian tribunal issued a warrant for his arrest. In 2023, helium told a DeFi Llama reporter that it was “exhausting” surviving arsenic a fugitive, saying that helium had been bouncing astir done Europe, South America and an unnamed land federation portion connected the lam. A spokesperson for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) told CoinDesk that Medjedovic remains “at large” and is not believed to beryllium successful the U.S.

Eight months aft telling the aforesaid newsman that helium was present a whitehat hacker, prosecutors accidental Medjedovic stole astir $50 cardinal from KyberSwap. According to the indictment, Medjedovic planned the KyberSwap hack for months earlier acting, penning to himself “Find clip to Strike!” and creating a “POST-EXPLOITATION” program for himself.

In 1 file, Medjedovic allegedly mused connected his past mistakes, penning “Going On the tally / Yes / Chance of getting caught<Payoff for not getting caught / (NA) / Risk is typically underpriced successful modern world.”

Medjedovic has been charged with 1 number of ligament fraud, 1 number of unauthorized harm to a protected computer, 1 number of attempted Hobbs Act extortion, 1 number of wealth laundering conspiracy and 1 number of wealth laundering. He faces a maximum punishment of 90 years successful prison.

Cheyenne Ligon

On the quality squad astatine CoinDesk, Cheyenne focuses connected crypto regularisation and crime. Cheyenne is primitively from Houston, Texas. She studied governmental subject astatine Tulane University successful Louisiana. In December 2021, she graduated from CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, wherever she focused connected concern and economics reporting. She has nary important crypto holdings.