Maryland Man Convicted for Cryptocurrency Theft and Rare Collectibles Purchases

A Rockville man was convicted for stealing approximately $50 million from a cryptocurrency exchange, with some of the stolen funds used to acquire rare trading cards. Jonathan Spalletta, 36, faced charges of computer fraud and money laundering after a jury trial in Manhattan lasting six days.

Overview of the Crimes

According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Spalletta executed two hacking incidents against the cryptocurrency platform Uranium Finance in April 2021. His actions were significant enough to drive the exchange into closure due to financial depletion.

Details of the Hacking Incidents

Spalletta’s first attack occurred on April 8, 2021, when he exploited a flaw in the platform’s smart contract, successfully withdrawing around $1.4 million in cryptocurrency. He then coerced the exchange into permitting him to retain roughly $386,000 as a bug bounty in exchange for the return of the remaining funds.

On April 28, Spalletta launched a second attack, taking advantage of another vulnerability across several liquidity pools to steal approximately $53.3 million. As a result, Uranium Finance could no longer sustain its operations and ultimately shut down.

Laundering the Stolen Funds

After the theft, Spalletta engaged in money laundering activities, conducting various transactions to obscure the origins of the stolen funds, including using Tornado Cash. He subsequently directed portions of the illicit gains toward the purchase of rare collectibles.

Noteworthy Collectibles Purchased

Details of Spalletta’s purchases include:

• A Black Lotus Magic: The Gathering card for approximately $500,000
• 18 sealed Alpha Booster packs of Magic: The Gathering cards costing around $1.51 million
• A first edition unopened Pokemon booster box for approximately $257,500
• A complete first edition Pokemon base set valued at around $750,000
• A rare Roman coin that commemorates the assassination of Julius Caesar, purchased for approximately $601,545
• A piece of fabric from the Wright brothers’ original airplane, which Neil Armstrong carried on the moon, for about $137,500

Several of these items were seized by federal investigators during a search of Spalletta’s residence, which included the Black Lotus card as well as the Wright brothers’ airplane fabric and antique Roman coins.

Investigation Findings

Authorities also managed to recover around $31 million in stolen cryptocurrency during a focused investigation that took place in February 2025. During the inquiry, messages from Spalletta revealed his awareness and acknowledgment of his criminal activities, with one message stating, “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.”

Consequences and Sentencing

Following the conviction, U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald emphasized how Spalletta’s deceitful actions caused profound financial loss, stating that his crimes resulted in victims losing real money—over $50 million—and an entire crypto platform’s collapse. Spalletta has been convicted on both counts and faces a potential maximum penalty of 10 years for computer fraud and 20 years for money laundering. A federal judge will determine the length of his sentence.

Related Incidents

This case is not isolated; a previous instance in July 2026 involved a Philadelphia man accused of using counterfeit cryptocurrency to buy a rare Poncho-Wearing Pikachu card valued at $24,200, illustrating a troubling intersection of digital currency misuse and collectible purchases.