The CEO of Savannah Technologies took the stand Monday in a trial that’s shaking the digital finance world — a courtroom showdown blending high-stakes crypto, academic genius, and digital deception. At the heart of it: a $25 million crypto heist that prosecutors say was engineered by two MIT-educated brothers, Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, using a flaw deep within the Ethereum blockchain.

The Savannah $25M Crypto Heist has captivated jurors with tales of bots, blockchain bugs, and blurred ethics — and a fierce debate over whether “sandwich trading” is clever strategy or legalized manipulation.

A Morning of Panic and Missing Millions

Savannah CEO David Yakira recalled the morning of April 2023 when he awoke to a torrent of messages: his company had just suffered a multimillion-dollar loss. The culprit, investigators later alleged, was an elaborate digital ambush by the Peraire-Bueno brothers, who had exploited an Ethereum software vulnerability to siphon $25 million from Savannah and other crypto trading firms.

The brothers allegedly operated under a trading outfit named 18decimal — known internally as “Omakase” — and used their deep understanding of blockchain mechanics to turn the tables on sandwich traders like Savannah.

What Exactly Is ‘Sandwich Trading’?

Sandwich trading, or “sandwich attacks,” involves bots that front-run pending crypto transactions, nudging up the token’s price before selling it off at a profit — effectively profiting from another trader’s move. Critics call it manipulative; defenders call it efficient market behavior.

During cross-examination, Yakira sparred with defense attorney Daniel Marx over whether sandwich trading hurts “the victim in the middle.” Yakira rejected that framing outright.

“The middle trader executes their own transaction,” Yakira argued. “We don’t alter it, we don’t manipulate it. We just use what’s there.”

Marx pressed further: “Isn’t the profit you make at their expense?”
Yakira shot back, “I’m not okay with that phrasing. The middle trade does exactly what it’s designed to do. There’s no guarantee they’d have gotten a better result without us.”

The Perfect Exploit: Turning Bots Against Their Masters

Prosecutors allege the Peraire-Bueno brothers flipped the script. Acting as Ethereum validators, they used a bug in the MEV-Boost software — which typically hides transaction data until blocks are confirmed — to peek at trade details early. With that forbidden glimpse, they reconstructed pending transactions, baiting the sandwich bots into pre-set traps.

The bots, running multimillion-dollar buy orders for illiquid crypto tokens, drove prices up — just as the brothers intended. Using early access, the brothers bought those same tokens cheaply, then sold them back to the bots for stablecoins, leaving the bots unable to complete their back-end trades.

In the blink of an algorithm, the brothers allegedly walked away with $25 million, leaving Savannah and others holding digital air.

An Ethical Crossfire in the Crypto Arena

As the courtroom delved deeper into blockchain intricacies, Yakira defended Savannah’s use of sandwich trading as legitimate market strategy, bristling at terms like “attack.”
“The crypto market is a free-for-all,” he said. “Everyone plays by the same code. We didn’t cheat — we competed.”

But defense attorneys countered that if sandwichers exploit smaller traders, then Savannah was reaping the same kind of advantage it now condemns.

The Peraire-Bueno brothers insist their actions were fair play in what they call the “rough and tumble” of decentralized finance.

Digital Ghosts and Silent Negotiations

After the alleged exploit, Yakira testified, Savannah attempted contact with a crypto wallet linked to the missing funds. The response was cryptic:

“If you wish to communicate further, identify yourself and who you represent.”

Neither side revealed identities. With tensions rising, lawyers stepped in, but the stalemate persisted. Savannah ultimately reported the incident to U.S. and Israeli authorities.

Charges and Ongoing Trial

In May 2024, Anton and James Peraire-Bueno were arrested and charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The government is represented by Danielle Kudla, Jerry Jia-Wei Fang, Benjamin Levander, and Ryan Nees of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Anton is defended by Daniel Marx and William Fick of Fick & Marx LLP, while James is represented by Katherine Trefz, Daniel Shanahan, Patrick Looby, Ikenna Ugboaja, Joseph Bayerl of Williams & Connolly LLP, and Jonathan Bach of Shapiro Arato Bach LLP.

The trial continues Tuesday, promising more revelations from the high-voltage world where math prodigies, machines, and millions of dollars collide.