Trump Policy Shift Argued by Crypto Bros Means$ 25M Fraud Case May Be Tossed.

In federal court this week, two brothers accused of stealing$ 25 million worth of Ethereum filed a novel legal defense, contending that their case must be dismissed immediately because new DOJ crypto policies make it illegal for them to actually consider property in the first place.

The DOJ accused Anton and James Pepaire-Bueno, two MIT-educated programming whizzes, of stealing millions of dollars worth of ETH from merchants next spring. Initial charges against the boys were wire fraud and money-laundering crime. Eventually, they were also accused of conspiring to steal home.

The boys ‘ prosecutors filed a movement in Manhattan federal court this week, alleging that the whole case should be dismissed in part because of a DOJ letter that was made public last week and outlined how the department may reconsider its bitcoin caseload under the Trump administration. &nbsp,

The letter also described how the DOJ should stop prosecuting criminal cases in a number of areas relating to online assets, as well as shuttering the DOJ’s crypto enforcement team. &nbsp,

Attorneys for the Pepaire-Bueno brothers took notice of a phrase in the letter that stated that the DOJ “is not a digital assets controller” and that it” will certainly continue to pursue litigation or police actions that have the impact of superimposing regulatory frameworks on modern assets.”

The lawyers now contend that the DOJ’s insistence on keeping an eye on the securities status of various crypto assets prevents prosecution from claiming that the Pepaire-Bueno brothers committed several crimes they’re accused of carrying out. &nbsp,

According to the attorneys, one of the current charges against the brothers, such as conspiracy to steal property, is now unsolvable. Why? Because the DOJ cannot contest whether or not crypto assets are securities, they cannot claim that they do so in accordance with the law, regardless of whether they were stolen or not. That’s the argument, in any case.

When asked about the potential merits of that argument, the DOJ declined to comment on this story. &nbsp,

The defendants ‘ motion to dismiss will now be decided by U.S. District Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke, who is in charge of the case. &nbsp,

What the DOJ’s public overhaul of its digital asset policies may mean for active criminal cases involving industry leaders has sparked rumors ever since. The United States ‘ ongoing legal case against Roman Storm, the creator of the crypto-privacy service Tornado Cash, is of particular interest. &nbsp,

In effect, U.S. law enforcement detained Storm in 2023, accusing him of helping North Korea levy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of digital assets without effectively limiting the state’s access to the platform.

However, the DOJ crypto memo from last week mandated that prosecution only pursue “enemy groups” that use crypto and not “actions against the platforms these organizations use to carry out their illegal activities.”

A DOJ spokesperson told Decrypt on Wednesday that Storm’s case is still on trial this summer. &nbsp, &nbsp,