The Aporia · Pokemon collector found guilty in US$55 million crypto hack case

Jonathan Spalletta, a cybersecurity consultant, has been found guilty of hacking Uranium Finance in 2021 and stealing nearly US$55 million in cryptocurrency. The New York jury reached this verdict on October 7 after brief deliberation. Prosecutors highlighted that Spalletta used the stolen funds to acquire rare collectibles including Pokemon cards valued at over $3 million and a Roman coin worth more than $600,000. He faces up to 20 years in prison and sentencing is scheduled for February 16, 2027.

Written by AI on 2026-10-08, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

Story summary

Jonathan Spalletta, a cybersecurity consultant, was found guilty in New York by a jury on October 7, 2023, of stealing nearly US$55 million (S$70.4 million) from Uranium Finance, a cryptocurrency exchange he hacked in 2021. Prosecutors accused Spalletta of using the stolen funds to purchase rare collectibles, including over US$3 million worth of Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering cards from his Maryland home. Additionally, he spent over US$600,000 on an ancient Roman coin commemorating Julius Caesar's assassination and paid US$137,000 for a piece of the original Washington Monument. Sentencing is scheduled for February 16, 2027, with a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison due to his use of crypto mixers like Tornado Cash for money laundering.

Written for “Pokemon Hack Trial Verdict” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

📰 Pokemon Hack Trial Verdict

Crime & Law · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

The Straits Times

2807 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

🔮 Pope Leo is healthy and ready to depart this week for an intense three-country tour of South America less than a month after his lung cancer surgery, Vatican officials said on Nov 3, adding that no extra medical precautions were being taken for the trip. Leo, 71, leaves on Nov 6 for a 12-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, set to be one of the most intense a pope has taken in decades. He had surgery on Oct 13 to remove the lower lobe of his right lung. “The pope is in good health,” Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said at a briefing.

2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Pope Leo healthy and needs no extra measures for South America trip, Vatican says

🔮 “There are so many vulnerabilities out there that in some ways you could say are waiting to be exploited,” he said following a speech to coincide with the release of his agency’s annual report.

2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Supermarket fridge attack is just the start, says UK cybersecurity chief

🔮 "But I would also say it is important for Russia to finally engage in serious negotiations on a ceasefire and a subsequent peace agreement.

2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Russia must show it is serious about ceasefire at Abu Dhabi talks, Germany's Merz says

🔮 Those rulings all came after the US Supreme Court swiftly rejected the administration's request that it intervene in a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to order California election officials not to count any mail ballots received from more than 20,000 people it says may be noncitizens.

2026-11-03 · assertive framing · With US midterms underway, courts rebuff Trump's pressure on state election officials

🔮 Ceding control of either chamber to the Democrats would imperil Trump's legislative agenda and open the door to Democratic-led congressional investigations targeting him and his administration.

2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Trump's Supreme Court winning streak in election cases screeches to a halt

🔮 Trump says US will stop $4 billion military aid to Israel at end of 2026 WASHINGTON, Nov 3 - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he made a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that Washington would no longer be providing military aid to Israel after the end of this year.

2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Trump says US will stop $4 billion military aid to Israel at end of 2026

🔮 Trump's Justice Dept identifies where US election monitors will be in the 50 states

2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Trump's Justice Dept identifies where US election monitors will be in the 50 states

🔮 The European Commission will host a meeting on Ukraine on Wednesday with representatives of the United States, Ukraine, NATO and European allies, the European Union's executive body said on Tuesday.

2026-11-03 · assertive framing · EU to host talks on Ukraine with United States and others on Wednesday

🔮 Republicans losing the House of Representatives would give Democrats the power to stall Trump’s legislative agenda and launch sweeping investigations of his administration.

2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Trump’s grip on power on the line as America votes

🔮 UK spy agency MI5 will not face contempt case for misleading evidence, court rules

2026-11-03 · assertive framing · UK spy agency MI5 will not face contempt case for misleading evidence, court rules

Also by The Straits Times

European supermarkets rush to patch vulnerabilities after region-wide fridge hack

2026-11-03 · The Straits Times

Supermarket fridge attack is just the start, says UK cybersecurity chief

2026-11-03 · The Straits Times

Europe-wide bomb threats disrupt air travel

2026-11-03 · The Straits Times

Pope Leo healthy and needs no extra measures for South America trip, Vatican says

2026-11-03 · The Straits Times

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 2807 articles by The Straits Times →

Pokemon collector found guilty in US$55 million crypto hack case AI generated NEW YORK – A cybersecurity consultant was found guilty of stealing nearly US$55 million (S$70.4 million) in cryptocurrency, some of which was spent to acquire rare Pokemon cards and other collectibles. asserted

some → find → cards

Jonathan Spalletta was convicted by a New York jury on Oct 7 after just over two hours of deliberation. asserted

Spalletta → convict → deliberation

Prosecutors accused Spalletta of carrying out two attacks in 2021 against Uranium Finance, a cryptocurrency exchange that shut down after he drained about US$55 million from the platform. asserted

he → accuse → platform

Spalletta faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on a money-laundering count relating to his use of crypto mixers like Tornado Cash. asserted

Spalletta → face → Cash

US District Judge Jed Rakoff set his sentencing for Feb 16, 2027. asserted

Rakoff → set → Feb

The case drew attention in part because of what prosecutors said Spalletta later bought. asserted

Spalletta → draw → part

The US authorities seized more than US$3 million worth of rare Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering cards from his Maryland home, along with about US$31 million in cryptocurrency. asserted

authorities → seize → cryptocurrency

Spalletta also spent more than US$600,000 on an ancient Roman coin commemorating the assassination of Julius Caesar and paid US$137,000 for a piece of the original Wright brothers Flyer that was carried to the moon by Neil Armstrong. asserted

that → spend → Armstrong

Defence lawyers argued that Spalletta did not hack the exchange because he used publicly available functions built into its smart contracts rather than spoofed credentials or malicious code. asserted

he → argue → credentials

Pokemon collector found guilty in US$55 million crypto hack case

Quick Summary

AI analysis

Story

Compared with similar articles

Signals How these are calculated →

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Publisher

Who wrote this

Topics

Subjects

Narrative

Claims (9 extracted, 0 hedged)