Fraud convictions involving cryptocurrency hack and streaming bots

A New York jury has convicted 36-year-old Jonathan Spalletta of computer fraud and money laundering related to a hack of the cryptocurrency exchange Uranium Finance. In April 2021, Spalletta exploited two programming and logic vulnerabilities to steal more than $50 million. The first exploit resulted in a $1.4 million loss, while the second targeted liquidity pools for $53.3 million. The exchange was forced to cease operations due to a lack of funds. Authorities seized approximately $31 million in cryptocurrency linked to the attack in February 2025.

In a separate case, 54-year-old Michael Smith has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for a large-scale streaming fraud scheme. Smith allegedly used up to 10,000 automated bot accounts to artificially inflate play counts on platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. To sustain the scheme, he utilized AI-generated songs and fake artist identities, generating over 80 million streams in April 2023 alone. Smith reportedly invested $1.3 million into the operation to collect more than $12 million in royalties. He has been ordered to pay approximately $8.1 million in restitution.