Mango Markets Exploiter Avraham Eisenberg Convicted In $110M Crypto Fraud

Crypto dealer Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg was discovered responsible by a Manhattan jury in October 2022 of orchestrating a $110 million fraud scheme focusing on the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, Mango Markets. 

Based on prosecutors, Eisenberg, working underneath a false id, allegedly engaged in market manipulation to drive up the worth of Mango’s token, MNGO, and associated contracts, in the end exploiting an change function to withdraw $110 million in cryptocurrency with no intention of compensation.

Avi Eisenberg’s Manipulation Scheme Uncovered

In the course of the trial, prosecutors revealed that Eisenberg manipulated the worth of MNGO tokens to deceive the system and purchase illicit funds. By “artificially inflating” the token’s worth, Eisenberg allegedly sought to perpetrate a deliberate fraud in opposition to Mango Markets. 

Assistant US Lawyer Thomas Burnett emphasised Eisenberg’s intent to “take the cash and run,” alleging that he meticulously deliberate and executed the fraud.

Shortly after his important monetary achieve, Eisenberg fled to Israel from Puerto Rico, the place he resided. Nonetheless, upon his return to Puerto Rico on December 26, 2022, US authorities arrested him. Eisenberg has remained in custody since then, as a decide deemed him a flight danger forward of his trial.

Prosecution Conflict In Mango Markets’ Fraud Trial 

In the course of the trial, Eisenberg’s protection lawyer, Brian Klein, argued that his shopper had executed a authorized buying and selling technique throughout the change’s guidelines. 

Klein contended that Eisenberg had taken calculated dangers throughout the confines of the sensible contracts governing the decentralized finance platform. Moreover, he highlighted the platform’s disclaimer that warned customers of the software program’s unaudited nature and related dangers.

Assistant US Lawyer Thomas Burnett countered the protection’s argument, stating that the foundations of the Mango Markets platform didn’t protect Eisenberg from prosecution for fraud and manipulation. 

Eisenberg didn’t testify throughout the trial, however he performed an lively function in his protection, taking notes all through the testimony and continuously suggesting questions for his attorneys to ask the witnesses. 

Following Eisenberg’s conviction, the worth of the MNGO token has skilled a notable surge, reaching $0.029. This represents a notable 11.5% enhance throughout the previous 24 hours alone.

In broader timeframes, contrasting the efficiency of the general cryptocurrency market, MNGO has demonstrated important positive aspects of 69% and 46% over the previous fourteen and thirty days, respectively. These figures point out a renewed curiosity within the token after the exploit of the Mango Markets protocol.

Nonetheless, regardless of these current positive aspects, the MNGO token stays considerably beneath its all-time excessive of $0.49, achieved in September 2021. The present value displays a decline of 94% from that peak degree.

Featured picture from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com