Mango Markets Exploiter Waives Bail, Will Remain in Prison Until Feb 14th

Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg, arrested for his attack on the cryptocurrency exchange Mango Markets, has reportedly waived his right to bail. Eisenberg previously admitted on social media to being behind the exploit that drained the exchange of more than $110 million.

“Avi” Eisenberg To Remain in Jail Until At Least February 14th

This Thursday, Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg waived his right to bail at his first hearing in New York Federal District Court. Eisenberg has been arrested for an attack on the cryptocurrency exchange Mango Markets last October. Interestingly, prior to his arrest, the defendant admitted he is behind the exploit which he, at the time, called a “very profitable trading strategy”.

According to the Department of Justice, Eisenberg exploited the exchange by manipulating the price of its MNGO Perpetuals. He achieved this by setting up two accounts on Mango Markets which he used to sell the perpetuals to himself. Additionally, he made a series of MNGO transactions using USDC and USDT stablecoins causing the price of perpetuals to spike by approximately 1,300%. Ultimately, leveraging the ability to borrow and withdraw digital assets based on the value of assets held on the platform—and the artificially inflated value of MNGO Perpetuals he sold to himself—Eisenberg was able to drain approximately $110 million worth of cryptocurrency from Mango Markets.

In a press release published shortly before the hearing, the Assistant Attorney General stated that “exploiting decentralized finance platforms is the new frontier of old school financial crimes in which criminals abuse emerging technologies for their own personal gain”, and added that “the Criminal Division is sending the message that no matter the mechanism used to commit market manipulation and fraud”.

Eisenberg Is Facing Up to 40 Years in Prison

In the immediate aftermath of the exploit, Eisenberg made a deal with Mango Markets according to which he would return $67 million and keep the rest. The agreement, however, didn’t save him from the ire of US regulators as he was arrested in late December in Puerto Rico.

In late January, as Eisenberg was waiting to be transported from the island to the mainland US, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced its own charges against him. Currently, the Mango Markets exploiter is facing up to 40 years in prison as he is accused of commodities fraud, commodities manipulation, and wire fraud.

On January 26th, Mango Markets decided to add to the pressure placed on Eisenberg. The exchange filed a complaint seeking the return of the $47 million kept by the exploiter after the agreement in October, as well as interest. This brings the total number of entities suing “Avi” Eisenberg to four as, in addition to the exchange, he is pursued by the SEC, the CFTC, and the DoJ.

This article originally appeared on The Tokenist