US SEC accuses crypto trader of ‘orchestrated’ attack on Mango Markets

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The SEC accused Avraham Eisenberg of manipulating the price of the Mango Markets token

The United States Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) has joined other federal agencies in indicting Avraham Eisenberg – a crypto trader. The crypto trader is under scrutiny from regulators for his activity on Mango Markets, a decentralized crypto exchange. In a blog post published today, the SEC accused Eisenberg of “orchestrated an attack” on the trading platform. The attack was executed by manipulating the native token of the platform – the MNGO token.

Trader attacks Mango Markets with his native token

The SEC accused him of stealing nearly $116 million worth of cryptocurrency by manipulating the price of MNGO tokens on the futures market. He also said that the actions of the trader resulted in the withdrawal of all assets from Mango Markets, rendering it insolvent.

The press release states,

“used an account he controlled at Mango Markets to sell a large amount of perpetual futures contracts for MNGO tokens and used a separate account at Mango Markets to buy those same perpetual futures contracts (…) engaged in a series of large purchases of thinly traded MNGO token with the aim of artificially increasing the price of the MNGO token”

The trader, however, offered a negotiation with the Mango Market DAO after the attack. Eisenberg had agreed to return a partial amount, i.e. $67 million, with him taking full control of the rest of the money. Following this, the trader attempted to execute a similar attack against Aave – a decentralized lending platform. However, the plan failed, causing him to lose millions

Additionally, the commission is investigating whether Eisenberg violated other securities laws. The crypto trader is currently being held in Puerto Rico and would soon be taken to the Southern District of New York. The case is to be heard by United States Magistrate Judge Judy Katherine Parker.

Other Federal Agencies Take Action Against Mango Markets Attacker

Notably, the commission is not the first agency to take action against the crypto trader. The Department of Justice and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed civil and criminal charges against Eisenberg. The CFTC charged him with commodity fraud and commodity manipulation. The CFTC filing said,

“The Commission seeks civil monetary penalties and ancillary remedies, including, but not limited to, trade ceases, restitution, restitution, rescission, pre- and post-judgment interest, and any other relief “

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