Key Takeaways
- After pleading guilty to computer fraud, hacker Shakeeb Ahmed was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing over $12M from Solana-based DEXs;
- In addition, Ahmed must forfeit $12.3M and pay $5M in restitution;
- US Attorney highlights this case as the first conviction for smart contract hacking, stressing severe penalties for blockchain security breaches.
Shakeeb Ahmed, a former security engineer, has been sentenced to three years in prison for his involvement in a multimillion-dollar theft from two decentralized exchanges (DEXs) on the Solana blockchain.
In addition to his prison term, Ahmed must forfeit $12.3 million and pay $5 million in restitution.
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The federal court's decision follows Ahmed's guilty plea to charges of computer fraud, which involved stealing more than $12 million from Crema Finance and Nirvana Finance.
Federal prosecutors recommended a four-year sentence, slightly below the maximum five-year statutory limit, due to Ahmed's "acceptance of responsibility in admitting to both of his hacks and surrendering his crime proceeds."
US Attorney Damian Williams commented on the case:
Shakeeb Ahmed was sentenced to prison in the first ever conviction for the hack of a smart contract <...>. And as today’s sentence shows, time in prison — and forfeiture of all the stolen crypto — is the inevitable consequence of such destructive hacks.
As the legal framework tightens around blockchain security, hackers face increasingly severe consequences for exploiting these technologies.
Meanwhile, legal actions are ongoing against Avi Eisenberg, who is accused of an alleged $110 million exploit of the Mango Markets DEX.
