By Dexerto | Created at 2026-10-08 17:19:04 | Updated at 2026-10-08 21:05:34
4 hours ago
A Maryland man has been convicted of stealing more than $50 million from a cryptocurrency exchange before spending some of it on rare Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering cards.
Jonathan Spalletta, 36, of Rockville, Maryland, was found guilty of computer fraud and money laundering following a six-day jury trial in Manhattan.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Spalletta carried out two separate hacks against cryptocurrency exchange Uranium Finance in April 2021, ultimately causing the platform to shut down.
Crypto hacker spent millions on rare Pokemon and Magic cards
Spalletta first targeted Uranium Finance on April 8, 2021, exploiting a vulnerability in the platform’s smart contract to withdraw approximately $1.4 million in cryptocurrency.
Prosecutors said he later pressured the exchange into allowing him to keep approximately $386,000 as a supposed bug bounty in exchange for returning the remaining funds.
On April 28, Spalletta carried out a second attack, exploiting another vulnerability across multiple liquidity pools to steal approximately $53.3 million in cryptocurrency.
The theft left Uranium Finance without enough funds to continue operating, forcing the exchange to shut down.
Spalletta subsequently laundered the stolen cryptocurrency through a series of transactions, including the use of Tornado Cash, before spending some of the money on rare collectibles.
US Department of JusticeAccording to prosecutors, his purchases included:
- A rare Black Lotus Magic: The Gathering card for approximately $500,000
- 18 sealed Alpha Booster packs of Magic: The Gathering cards for approximately $1.51 million
- A sealed first edition Pokemon booster box for approximately $257,500
- A complete first edition Pokemon base set for approximately $750,000
- A rare Roman coin commemorating the assassination of Julius Caesar for approximately $601,545
- A piece of fabric from the Wright brothers’ original airplane that Neil Armstrong carried to the moon for approximately $137,500
Federal investigators seized several collectibles from Spalletta’s residence, including the Black Lotus card, the Wright brothers’ airplane fabric, and antique Roman coins.
Authorities also seized approximately $31 million in stolen cryptocurrency in February 2025.
During the investigation, prosecutors uncovered messages in which Spalletta discussed the first hack with another individual.
“I did a crypto heist of $1.5MM a couple of weeks ago . . . There was a bug in a smart contract, and I exploited it . . . Crypto is all fake internet money anyway,” he wrote.
US Attorney Jamie McDonald referenced those messages following the conviction, saying Spalletta’s actions had caused significant financial losses.
“As Spalletta’s many victims know, those words could not be further from the truth,” McDonald said. “Spalletta’s crimes cost real people to lose real money—over $50 million dollars—and caused an entire crypto platform to collapse.”
Spalletta was convicted on both counts and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for computer fraud and 20 years for money laundering. A federal judge will determine his sentence.
This isn’t the first time cryptocurrency and rare Pokemon cards have been involved in a criminal case. In July 2026, a Philadelphia man was arrested after allegedly using fake cryptocurrency to purchase a rare Poncho-Wearing Pikachu card worth $24,200.
The transaction took place at a police department’s designated safe exchange zone in New Jersey, with investigators later using surveillance footage to identify the suspect.
