Avraham Eisenberg, a notorious cryptocurrency market manipulator, has been sentenced to over four years in prison for child pornography charges.
Eisenberg's Sentencing for Child Pornography
At a hearing held Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, a judge handed down a 52-month prison term for the child pornography conviction. The charges were brought in April 2024 following a 2023 guilty plea.
The Mango Markets Heist and Its Fallout
Eisenberg gained notoriety in October 2022 when he manipulated a price oracle on the decentralized crypto exchange Mango Markets, resulting in a loss of approximately $100 million in user funds. This incident triggered a sharp selloff in the exchange’s MNGO token, which lost more than half its value in a single day. Eisenberg claimed the move was legal, calling it an open-market strategy.
Eisenberg's Arrest and Ongoing Legal Issues
Eisenberg was arrested in Puerto Rico in December 2022 and charged by the FBI with commodities fraud and manipulation. In April 2024, a jury found him guilty of wire fraud. Eisenberg’s legal team argued that the exploit was a legitimate trading maneuver, but federal prosecutors pushed back, citing extensive evidence for his conviction.
Eisenberg continues to face the consequences of his actions in both child pornography and cryptocurrency fraud cases. The legal proceedings regarding the Mango Markets heist are still pending.
