"US Man Charged in $110m Crypto Trading Scheme"

A US man could face a maximum jail term of 40 years after being charged with fraudulently obtaining $110m of cryptocurrency from crypto exchange Mango Markets and its customers.  According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), Avraham Eisenberg, 27, was living in Puerto Rico when he carried out the alleged scheme.  He has now been charged with one count of commodities fraud, one count of commodities manipulation, and one count of wire fraud.  Mango Markets reportedly wants $47m in damages plus interest starting from the time of the attack.  Mango Markets is run by the Mango Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), which has its own crypto token (MNGO) that investors can buy and sell.  Eisenberg is accused of manipulating the price of perpetual contracts for MNGO.  Perpetual contracts are a type of contract popular in crypto markets.  The DoJ noted that Eisenberg manipulated the price of the perpetual contracts by selling huge amounts of MNGO perpetual contracts to himself, thereby rapidly inflating the price of those contracts by a reported 1300% in under an hour.  Eisenberg then allegedly used the increased value of his MNGO perpetual futures position to borrow and withdraw approximately $110m in various crypto assets from Mango Markets, effectively draining the platform of all its assets.  In addition to the criminal charges filed against him, Eisenberg is facing an SEC complaint regarding his alleged violation of securities laws.  The regulator is seeking civil penalties alongside “permanent injunctive relief,” “a conduct-based injunction,” and “disgorgement with prejudgment interest.”

Infosecurity reports: "US Man Charged in $110m Crypto Trading Scheme"