According to Cointelegraph, prosecutors for the United States Southern District of New York (SDNY) filed a motion on September 18 opposing Mango Markets exploiter Avraham Eisenberg's request for acquittal or a new trial. The SDNY attorneys argued that the jury correctly convicted Eisenberg by evaluating substantial evidence, beginning with the prosecution's assertion that Mango perpetual swaps are subject to the Commodities Exchange Act.
Federal prosecutors emphasized that Eisenberg's defense, which claimed the fraud charges were inapplicable because he did not seek to manipulate the market price of the underlying asset, was materially incorrect. They noted the jury instructions on price manipulation and asserted that the evidence strongly supported the juryโs conclusion that Eisenberg committed material fraud. The attorneys stated, 'Fraud was at the core of, and necessary to accomplish, the defendantโs scheme.'
Additionally, the SDNY prosecutors dismissed the defense's jurisdiction challenge, asserting that because most key employees of Mango Markets reside in Manhattan, the Southern District of New York had the authority to try the case.
The case stems from an incident on October 11, 2024, when Mango Markets was hacked, resulting in $100 million being drained from the platform and the Mango token (MNGO) plunging by 52% within 24 hours. The Mango Markets team confirmed that an exploit of a price oracle was responsible for the attack. Eisenberg later identified himself as the hacker in a social media thread, defending the exploit as 'legal open market actions,' a point his legal counsel argued at trial.
In December 2024, Eisenberg was arrested in Puerto Rico and subsequently charged with fraud and market manipulation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was found guilty of these charges in April 2024 and could face up to 20 years in prison if given the maximum sentence by a judge.