- Eisenberg manipulated MNGO, Mango Markets’ governance token, stole $116 million
- SEC charged him with violating anti-fraud provisions of securities laws
The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have pressed charges on Avraham Eisenberg, who was behind the multimillion-dollar exploit of Solana-based DeFi Platform Mango Markets, CoinTelegraph reported.
He raised the price artificially
On January 20, the SEC announced Eisenberg had manipulated MNGO, Mango Markets’ governance token, letting him steal around $116 million in crypto. Allegedly, he made a series of large MNGO purchases to raise the price of the token artificially with respect to USD Coin. Then, he drained the funds from the platform.
SEC head of Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit David Hirsch said:
Eisenberg engaged in a manipulative and deceptive scheme to artificially inflate the price of the MNGO token, which was purchased and sold as a crypto asset security, in order to borrow and then withdraw nearly all available assets from Mango Markets, which left the platform at a deficit when the security price returned to its pre-manipulation level.
With the assistance of the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the SEC, the FBI, and the CFTC have charged Eisenberg with violating the market manipulation and anti-fraud provisions of securities laws. The SEC will be seeking “permanent injunctive relief, a conduct-based injunction, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties”.
Eisenberg was behind the Mango exploit last year
Bankless Times was among the first to report a major Mango Markets exploit in October 2022, when around $50 million worth of USDC, $24 million worth of SOL, $27 million worth of Marinade Staked SOL (mSOL), and $15 million worth of MNGO were withdrawn. Eisenberg was responsible for that crime.
Later, Mango reported around $65 million of the stolen assets had been returned. Eisenberg stated he had been under the impression that his actions were lawful as part of a “highly lucrative trading strategy”.
Eisenberg was arrested in December in Puerto Rico. The FBI stated he knowingly and willfully engaged in a scheme involving artificial and intentional manipulation of the perpetual futures price on the crypto platform.
