Jurors who will decide whether two brothers are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a case involving maximum extractable value (MEV) bots on the Ethereum blockchain are no closer to reaching a verdict before the weekend.
Jurors in the U.S. government’s case against Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, according to a report Friday by the Inner City Press in New York court, request further clarification from the judge regarding the intentions behind their actions. Despite the judge’s instructions, the jurors reportedly “had difficulty reaching a unanimous verdict” in this case.
The report suggested the jury could find the brothers not guilty of at least one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to receive stolen property. Judge Jessica Clarke rejected defense attorneys’ requests for a mistrial and ordered the jury to order dinner and continue deliberations.
The deliberations, which lasted nearly three full business days as of Friday afternoon, were much longer than comparable cases involving cryptocurrency and fraud. In contrast, the jury in the criminal trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in the same district court took about five hours to reach a decision. find him guilty of seven criminal charges.
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The charges against the brothers stemmed from allegations that they used MEV bots to mine approximately $25 million in crypto from the Ethereum blockchain in 2023. Prosecutors’ theory, presented to the jury, was that the two individuals “cheated” the system by presenting themselves as “honest validators” on the blockchain.
How long can juries deliberate?
At the time of publication, it was unclear whether the jury would reach a verdict by the end of the day. In a note to the judge on Thursday, they said they could stay until 7:30 p.m. ET Friday.
Although there is generally no law limiting the time a jury can take to deliberate, a judge can intervene to expedite the proceedings or grant a motion for a mistrial if the jury indicates it is deadlocked. In the Peraire-Buenos case, Clarke did not issue charges against Allen – “instructions to a hung jury urging them to agree on a verdict.” according to at the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School.
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