By George Ward
Recently, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) revealed that Avraham Eisenberg, the exploiter behind the Mango Markets, is under custody in Puerto Rico. The attacker is believed to have carried out an October exploit on Mango Markets which led to the loss of assets worth $110 million.
Eisenberg Accused Of Manipulation And Fraud
The US Attorney of New York’s Southern District, Damian Williams, and assistant attorneys, Noah Solowiejczyk and Thomas Burnett, called for Eisenberg’s arrest after numerous charges were leveled against him.
A complaint dated December 27th from the DoJ says:
“I have added complaint 22 Mag. 10337. This complaint charges Eisenberg with offenses of conducting market manipulation. The complaint has been sealed. Last night, law enforcement agencies arrested the defendant in Puerto Rico. Enclosed in this document for the court to consider is a proposed order to unseal the complaint.”
In addition, the 22 Mag. 10337 report revealed two count charges against Eisenberg. The first count is for alleged commodities fraud, while the second is for the manipulation of commodities.
After the October hack, Eisenberg confirmed that he had been the brain behind the $100 million theft. Surprisingly, the hacker defended his actions saying the attack was within the confines of the law.
“I believe our actions on Mango Markets were lawful and allowed in the open market, although the team did not expect the consequences that result from setting certain parameters,” he said.
According to reports, Eisenberg did not act independently but collaborated with other entities. However, he led the team which attacked the decentralized exchange.
Eisenberg Tried To Attack Aave But Failed
Eisenberg reportedly manipulated the price of the exchange’s native token, MNGO, to purchase a large position. In addition, the hacker inflated prices by about 1,300%.
This artificial inflation allowed the attacker to borrow other coins using the MNGO as collateral. At the time, Eisenberg stated that he was in negotiation with the insurance fund to settle.
However, he never showed any intention of returning the stolen assets. The arrest request of the US DoJ stated that:
“Avraham Eisenberg, the defendant, purposely and knowingly tried to influence a commodity’s price in interstate commerce…Eisenberg took part in a scheme that artificially and intentionally manipulated the prices of perpetual futures contracts on a crypto platform, Mango Markets.”
Earlier in October, Eisenberg was criticized for his actions. However, he claimed not to care. Also, he stated that lending platforms would lend assets at the token’s current price.
In November, the exploiter tried to replicate the Mango exploit on another platform, Aave. Unfortunately, his attempts were not successful.