Andean Medjedovic Indicted in $65 Million DeFi Protocol Exploitation Case

Federal prosecutors have unsealed a five-count criminal indictment against Andean Medjedovic, a Canadian national accused of orchestrating a sophisticated cryptocurrency scheme that drained approximately $65 million from decentralized finance investors. The case, prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, represents a significant enforcement action in the growing effort to combat DeFi-related fraud.

The Alleged Scheme: Targeting KyberSwap and Indexed Finance

According to the Justice Department, Andean Medjedovic allegedly exploited critical vulnerabilities in the smart contracts powering two major DeFi protocols: KyberSwap and Indexed Finance. Between 2021 and 2023, prosecutors claim Medjedovic systematically manipulated these automated systems through deceptive trading strategies designed to trick the protocols’ code into miscalculating key financial variables.

The specific mechanics of the attack involved Medjedovic deliberately engaging in trades he knew would cause the smart contracts to incorrectly value assets. Through this manipulation, he was able to withdraw millions of dollars worth of tokens from protocol liquidity pools at artificially favorable prices—effectively rendering investor positions worthless while enriching himself.

Sophisticated Money Laundering and Concealment

To obscure the origins and ownership of his illicit gains, Andean Medjedovic allegedly employed a multi-layered laundering strategy. Court documents reveal he utilized cryptocurrency mixers—services that blend illegal transactions with legitimate ones to obscure transaction trails—alongside strategic use of swap and bridge transactions to further obfuscate the movement of stolen funds.

Adding another layer to the scheme, prosecutors allege Medjedovic conspired with others to open accounts at digital asset exchanges using false identity documents and borrowed personal information. This identity fraud was designed to create additional distance between Medjedovic and the proceeds, making law enforcement tracing significantly more challenging.

Severe Legal Consequences

The criminal charges carry substantial penalties. For the unauthorized access to protected computers charge alone, Andean Medjedovic faces up to ten years of incarceration. More serious are the charges related to circumventing the Hobbs Act, money laundering conspiracy, and money laundering itself—each of these counts carries a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison.

The prosecution of this high-profile case was led by Trial Attorney Tian Huang from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, working alongside Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Axelrod and Andrew Reich of the Eastern District of New York. Notably, Huang also serves with the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), a federal task force focused specifically on digital asset crimes. The involvement of this specialized enforcement team underscores the federal government’s intensified focus on prosecuting cryptocurrency-related offenses.

This indictment demonstrates that DeFi protocol developers face ongoing security challenges, while bad actors who exploit these systems should expect serious federal prosecution regardless of international borders.