Former Ethereum consultant Steven Nerayoff publicly accused Ethereum co-founders Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Lubin of engaging in fraudulent activities on the X platform. Steven Nerayoff suggested that Ethereum’s problems are more worrying than the scandal of SBF misappropriating FTX user funds, and that the scale of the alleged fraud is even larger.
Steven Nerayoff also suggested that there were secret transactions between Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Lubin and senior "corrupt officials" in the United States (such as SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton). His remarks sparked concern in the cryptocurrency community.
If these accusations prove to be true, they could seriously damage Ethereum’s credibility and legitimacy. However, it is important to note that these allegations remain unproven. (Investing)
According to previous news in September, former Ethereum consultant Steven Nerayoff once again refuted the fraud accusations made against him by Vitalik Buterin. This comes after attorney John Deaton disclosed that he saw some receipts in Nerayoff’s possession showing irregularities in the 2014 Ethereum ICO.
In the video, Nerayoff elaborated on the fraud claims made by Vitalik, claiming that Vitalik and his father, Dmitry Buterin, conducted an "elaborate" character attack against him in order to make him a scapegoat. In the video, Vitalik can be heard accusing Nerayoff of committing huge fraud by extorting money over a company's ICO.
Nerayoff also claimed that Virgil Griffith, a senior researcher and developer at the Ethereum Foundation, had been abandoned by Vitalik after he was "convicted of helping North Korea evade sanctions."
In 2019, the FBI arrested Steven Nerayoff and Alchemist partner Michael Hlady and filed racketeering charges; in 2021, Michael Hlady pleaded guilty to conspiring to extort millions of dollars in Ethereum from a startup company, thus facing up to 20 years in prison. imprisonment and fines. Hlady and his co-conspirator Steven Nerayoff allegedly threatened to destroy a startup executive if they did not agree to demands for additional funds and tokens.