Trial Begins for Avraham Eisenberg’s $116 Million Fraud Case Involving Solana DeFi Exchange
Crypto News – A trial concerning criminal fraud and manipulation charges against Avraham Eisenberg is slated to commence in a New York federal court this Tuesday. The trial will delve into Eisenberg’s alleged involvement in a $116 million exploit of the Solana-based decentralized finance (DeFi) exchange, Mango Markets. Anticipated to span over two weeks, the trial’s initial schedule for December 4, 2023, was postponed following a request from Eisenberg’s defense team.
Eisenberg has admitted to orchestrating the attack on Mango Markets in October 2022. However, he contends that the maneuver was a “highly profitable trading strategy” that operated within the bounds of the protocol’s design.
The scheme revolved around artificially inflating Mango token prices by manipulating the price oracle. Subsequently, Eisenberg utilized the inflated tokens as collateral to secure approximately $116 million in cryptocurrency loans, ultimately rendering the platform insolvent. In a subsequent agreement with the Mango DAO, Eisenberg pledged to return $67 million of the misappropriated funds.
Following his arrest in December 2022, Eisenberg faced charges from the Department of Justice, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Notably, wire fraud charges in the United States can carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
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