U.S. Files Fraud Raps In Mango Crypto Manipulation Case

US prosecutors have filed criminal charges of commodities fraud and manipulation against a man accused of trying to steal about $110 million in October by rigging the Mango Markets cryptocurrency exchange, Jonathan Stempel and Hannah Lang reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Avraham Eisenberg's trades in futures related to Mango's crypto token MNGO enabled him to withdraw $110 million in cryptocurrencies from other investors' deposits, with no apparent intention to repay the funds.

According to a complaint made public on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, Avraham Eisenberg's trades in futures related to Mango's crypto token MNGO enabled him to withdraw $110 million in cryptocurrencies from other investors' deposits, with no apparent intention to repay the funds.

Eisenberg was arrested on Monday night in Puerto Rico, US Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan said in a court filing. It was unclear whether Eisenberg has a lawyer.

Mango is a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange run by Mango DAO that lets investors lend, borrow, swap, and use leverage to trade cryptocurrency assets.

The Dec. 23 complaint signed by FBI Special Agent Brandon Racz said Eisenberg on Oct. 11 used two accounts to concurrently buy and sell futures based on the relative values of MNGO and the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC.)

By being on both sides of the transaction, Eisenberg artificially inflated the price of MNGO relative to USDC, allowing him to borrow and then withdraw $110 million of different cryptocurrencies, the complaint said.

Mango soon began negotiations with Eisenberg and reached a settlement to recoup $67 million.

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