Prosecutors for the United States Southern District of New York (SDNY) filed a motion on Sept. 18 opposing Mango Markets exploiter Avraham Eisenberg’s request for acquittal or a new trial.
According to the documents filed by SDNY attorneys, the jury correctly convicted Eisenberg by evaluating a “mountain of evidence,” beginning with the prosecution’s assertion that Mango perpetual swaps are subject to the Commodities Exchange Act.
The federal prosecutors stressed that Eisenberg’s defense — arguing the fraud charges do not apply in the case because the defendant did not seek to manipulate the market price of the underlying asset — were materially incorrect and noted the jury instructions on price manipulation. Attorneys for the Southern District of New York asserted:
“The evidence also powerfully supported the jury’s conclusion that the defendant committed fraud and that the fraud was material. Fraud was at the core of, and necessary to accomplish, the defendant’s scheme.”
Finally, the SDNY prosecutors rejected the defense’s jurisdiction challenge — claiming that because most of the key employees of Mango Markets reside in Manhattan, the Southern District of New York had the authority to try the case.
Source: Court Listener.
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The saga of the Mango Markets hacker
Mango Markets was hacked on Oct. 11, 2022, resulting in $100 million being drained from the platform and the Mango token (MNGO) plunging by 52% within 24 hours. Following the high-profile exploit, the Mango Markets team confirmed that an exploit of a price oracle was to blame for the attack.
Eisenberg later revealed himself as the hacker in a social media thread and defended the exploit as “legal open market actions” — a point his legal counsel would later argue at trial.
Two months later, in December 2022, Eisenberg was arrested in Puerto Rico and was subsequently charged with fraud and market manipulation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Mango Markets exploiter was found guilty of fraud and market manipulation in April 2024 and could face up to 20 years behind bars if given the maximum sentence by a judge.
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