Fraud trial of Mango Markets exploiter behind alleged $116M theft pushed to April

Attorneys representing the alleged fraudster, Avraham Eisenberg, convinced the judge that more time was needed to sift through discovery materials submitted by U.S. prosecutors.

Lawyers representing the $116 million Mango Markets exploiter have convinced a judge to postpone the fraud trial until April 8, 2023.

Avraham Eisenberg’s fraud trial was set to commence on Dec. 4, but several circumstances impacted his trial preparations, according to his lawyers, who filed a successful motion for a continuance to district court Judge Arun Subramanian on Nov. 2.

“As discussed in today’s conference, the motion for continuance is GRANTED. Trial in this case will begin on April 8, 2024,” Subramanian stated in a Nov. 3 court filing.

United States prosecutors contested the motion for continuance but were unsuccessful. Subramanian also ordered United States prosecutors and Eisenberg’s lawyers to submit a revised schedule for pretrial motions and submissions by Nov. 7.

Despite confessing his involvement in the Mango Markets exploit, Eisenberg pleaded not guilty to three criminal counts for commodities fraud, commodity manipulation and wire fraud in June.

In the motion, Eisenberg’s attorneys said they needed more time to sift through discovery materials submitted by U.S. prosecutors.

“The government has produced voluminous discovery in this case on a rolling basis [...] which the defense is still analyzing and conferring with the client about.”

The lawyers added that they lost time to prepare with Eisenberg when he was “unexpectedly” transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn on Oct. 26.

Eisenberg wasn’t permitted to transfer the discovery materials, which he annotated along with other legal paperwork relevant to the trial.

“The move to the MDC has already, and will continue to, severely inhibit defense counsel’s access to Mr. Eisenberg,” the lawyers added.

MCD is the prison that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried returned to after he was convicted on all seven fraud-related charges on Nov. 2.

Related: How low liquidity led to Mango Markets losing over $116 million

The Securities and Exchange Commission also charged Eisenberg on Jan. 20, alleging that he manipulated the Mango Markets governance token, MNGO, by taking out “massive loans” against its inflated collateral and draining Mango’s treasury of around $116 million.

Mango Markets is now also suing Avraham Eisenberg, seeking the return of the remaining $47 million he stole.https://t.co/7pDoHuigH4 https://t.co/H48nPPl13h

— web3 is going just great (@web3isgreat) January 26, 2023

It followed Eisenberg’s arrest in Puerto Rico about three weeks earlier on Dec. 27.

Eisenberg publicly confessed to the exploit on Oct. 15, 2022, arguing that his actions were completely legal. He initially sent back $67 million to Mango Markets’ decentralized autonomous organization as part of a bounty deal. However, the team behind Mango Markets later sued Eisenberg for $47 million in damages plus interest.

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