Security News > 2023 > February > Guy accused of wrecking crypto exchange now hauled into court

The man accused of bringing down decentralized crypto exchange Mango Markets through market manipulation has made his first appearance in court in connection with the theft of millions in cryptocurrency.

Avraham Eisenberg was arrested in late December in Puerto Rico in relation to charges [PDF] filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which allege he made off with more than $110 million in crypto "By artificially manipulating the price of certain perpetual futures contracts."

A Department of Justice grand jury indicted Eisenberg in early January, leading to this latest court hearing.

Eisenberg, in turn, used his position "As collateral to borrow and ultimately withdraw from the Mango Markets platform approximately $116 million worth of various crypto assets - some of which belonged to investors trading on the Mango Markets platform, thereby draining all available assets from the platform," the suit alleges.

A few days after the SEC announced its case, Mango Labs sued Eisenberg to recover the remaining funds, alleging Eisenberg's negotiations with the company were "Unlawful" because his demands included Mango Labs' releasing claims against him "And precluding them from pursuing a criminal investigation."

Kenneth Polite, assistant attorney general of the DoJ's criminal division, said the crimes Eisenberg is accused of aren't anything new - they're just a new frontier in the same old financial crimes.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/02/03/mango_markets_fraud_trial/