Individual Accused of Child Pornography Possession in Mango Markets Exploitation Case

Mango Markets Scammer Charged with Possessing Child Pornography


Ruholamin Haqshanas
Updated:
April 29, 2024 04:04 EDT
|
2 min read


Avraham Eisenberg, the individual recently found guilty of defrauding and manipulating the market in connection with a $110 million theft from Mango Markets, now faces additional charges of possessing child pornography.
Court documents, dated April 3 but
released on April 26
, allege that Eisenberg had images in his possession that depicted minors under the age of 12.
It is important to note that these allegations have not yet been proven in court.
Eisenberg Had Child Pornography Materials
Previous court documents filed in August revealed that the material had initially been discovered on Eisenberg’s cell phones and laptops during a search related to the fraud and market manipulation charges.
Subsequently, the government obtained a second warrant in February 2023 to expand the investigation specifically for evidence related to the possession and receipt of child pornography.
Investigative journalist Christopher Brunet was the first to report on the child pornography charges. Brunet claims to have screenshots of Eisenberg engaging in disturbing conversations about children.
The emergence of these charges is a significant development in Eisenberg’s legal troubles, which already included the conviction for fraud and market manipulation.
The seriousness of the case is compounded by the severity of the allegations surrounding child pornography.
As previously reported, Eisenberg
has been found guilty
in a Manhattan federal court for orchestrating a scheme that resulted in the theft of approximately $110 million from the Solana-based DeFi platform.
Prosecutors argued that Eisenberg orchestrated a complex exploit on the platform, resulting in substantial financial losses.
Eisenberg, who has been in custody since January 2023, could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
$110 Million Mango Markets Exploit
On October 11, 2022,
Mango Markets fell victim to an attack
in which approximately $110 million was stolen from its treasury.
Shortly after the attack,
Avraham Eisenberg admitted to being the perpetrator
, claiming that the exploit was a “highly profitable trading strategy” conducted within the bounds of legality and the protocol’s intended design.
According to prosecutors
, Eisenberg used two accounts to engage in manipulative trading involving futures contracts tied to the values of
Mango’s token MNGO and the stablecoin USD Coin
.
These trades allegedly inflated the value of his contracts by 1,300% within 20 minutes, enabling him to borrow against his holdings and withdraw $110 million in various cryptocurrencies.
Subsequently, Eisenberg agreed to return $67 million in exchange for other token holders refraining from legal action or freezing his assets.
He was arrested on December 26, 2022, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he lived, and has remained in custody since then, as prosecutors deemed him a flight risk.
On January 9,
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) added to the FBI’s charges
, accusing Eisenberg of two counts of market manipulation.
A
lawsuit filed by Mango Labs
described Eisenberg as a “notorious online personality” with a history of attacking multiple cryptocurrency platforms and manipulating cryptocurrency markets.
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