- Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg has been sentenced to 52 months in prison for possession of child sexual abuse material
- He was previously convicted of wire fraud, commodities fraud, and market manipulation related to a $110 million exploit of Mango Markets
- A federal judge is considering a retrial for the Mango Markets-related charges due to legal challenges raised by Eisenberg’s defense
Avraham Eisenberg, known for orchestrating a $110 million exploit of the decentralized finance platform Mango Markets, has been sentenced to four years and four months in prison for additional crimes. The sentence pertains to his 2024 guilty plea for possession of child sexual abuse material, discovered during his arrest. While Eisenberg was also convicted of fraud and market manipulation in connection with the Mango Markets incident, the judge is deliberating on a potential retrial for those charges.
Unsavoury Material Found During Investigation
On May 1, 2025, Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced Eisenberg to 52 months at FCI Otisville, a medium-security facility in New York. The sentencing focused on Eisenberg’s possession of over 1,200 explicit images and videos of minors, some depicting infants and acts of sadistic violence. Prosecutors emphasized the severity of these offenses, advocating for a sentence between 6.5 and 8 years.
Eisenberg’s defense attributed his actions to a strict religious upbringing and psychological trauma, requesting a three-year sentence. The nature of these crimes may well ensure that Eisenberg experiences a less-than-pleasant time in prison compared to the financial fraud that saw him arrested in the first place.
Mango Markets Exploit
In October 2022, Eisenberg manipulated Mango Markets’ native token, MNGO, by inflating its price through self-trading. This allowed him to secure $110 million in loans from the platform, which he did not intend to repay. Although he returned approximately $67 million following a community governance vote, he retained over $40 million.
Eisenberg’s defense argued that his actions were legal under the platform’s design, invoking the “code-is-law” principle. However, a jury found him guilty of wire fraud, commodities fraud, and market manipulation in April 2024. Eisenberg’s legal team has filed motions for a new trial or acquittal, challenging the jurisdiction and the classification of MNGO tokens as commodities.
Judge Subramanian acknowledged a “non-zero chance” of granting a retrial for the Mango Markets-related charges, but proceeded with sentencing for the child exploitation charges, citing the need for general deterrence. Upon release, Eisenberg will undergo five years of supervised release, including mandatory installation of monitoring software on electronic devices and participation in a drug outpatient program.
