Eisenberg, a 27-year-old US citizen, was arrested and detained in MDC Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. He is awaiting transfer to the front of the Southern District of New York. There, he faces parallel criminal and civil charges.These are brought about by Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), respectively.by of the SEC Since October 11, 2022, Eisenberg has been involved in a scheme to steal approximately $116 million worth of crypto assets from the Mango Markets platform.
artificial inflation
The complaint alleges that Eisenberg mistakenly inflated the value of MNGO tokens while living in Puerto Rico. Using an account he managed at Mango Markets, he sold a large volume of MNGO token perpetual futures. As a result, he purchased the same perpetual futures contract using a separate account on his market for Mango.
The complaint further alleges that Eisenberg was subsequently involved in a series of large-scale purchases of MNGO tokens with low trade. He did this to artificially raise the price of his MNGO token against his USD Coin in crypto assets.
The complaint also alleges that these transactions resulted in an increase in the price of MNGO perpetual futures on Mango Markets. These included those held by Eisenberg. According to the complaint, Eisenberg used the increased value of his MNGO perpetual futures positions to borrow and withdraw about $116 million worth of various crypto assets from Mango Markets. He effectively drained all available assets from the Mango Markets platform.
no crime is too small
David HirschHead of Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, said:
As we allege, Eisenberg was involved in a manipulative and deceptive scheme to artificially inflate the price of MNGO tokens. It was bought and sold as a cryptocurrency security to borrow and withdraw assets, which made the platform deficit when the security price returned to pre-operation levels.
As our actions demonstrate, the SEC remains committed to eradicating market manipulation, regardless of the type of security involved.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, accuses Eisenberg of violating the anti-fraud and market manipulation provisions of the Securities Act. It seeks permanent injunctive relief, an injunction for conduct, withdrawal with prejudgment benefits, and civil penalties.
The SEC’s ongoing investigation Christine Polley Additional assistance in investigating crypto assets and cyber units thomas Bedkowski Additionally, the SEC lawsuit of the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit Alyssa Qualls of the Chicago Regional Office.Finally, the issue is supervised by Amy Flaherty Hartman, Jorge TenreiroMr. Hirsch, and carolyn Welsh.
The SEC thanks the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for their assistance. FBIand CFTC.