New York, Wednesday, August 14, 2024- Avraham Eisenberg, previously convicted in April for his role in a crypto scheme earlier this year, has been granted to move for a new trial, according to Blockworks.
Judge Arun Subramanian approved Eisenberg’s request for a judgment of acquittal and a motion for a new trial, citing concerns over the jurisdiction of the original trial, which was held in the Southern District of New York.
Earlier Eisenberg’s legal team argued in a 77-page filing that there was an insufficient connection between the evidence and the district, noting that none of the alleged criminal acts occurred there. 1
They emphasized that Eisenberg was in Puerto Rico at the time, which they contend is more relevant to the case.
Eisenberg was arrested in Puerto Rico after allegedly fleeing due to threats following his acquisition of over $110 million from Mango Markets.
He was initially found guilty on three counts: commodities fraud, wire fraud, and commodities manipulation.
Prosecutors claimed he manipulated Mango Markets’ futures contracts to inflate swap prices and exploit the platform for $110 million.
During the trial, Eisenberg’s defense argued that his actions were part of a legal trading strategy permitted by the platform, but prosecutors insisted that he knowingly committed fraud, stating, “The more he pumped, the more he could steal.”
Eisenberg was found guilty by a Southern District of New York jury.
The prosecution’s case centers on Eisenberg’s alleged manipulation of perpetual futures contracts to exploit Mango Markets, a decentralized finance platform.
Eisenberg previously defended his actions on social media, asserting that they were legal and within the bounds of the platform’s design.
The approval of Eisenberg’s plea could significantly impact the prosecution’s case, reports say.
Avraham Eisenberg was charged with manipulating perpetual futures contracts on Mango Markets, a decentralized finance platform, in an attempt to illegally extract $110 million. By exploiting vulnerabilities in the platform’s design, Eisenberg allegedly inflated the value of his own trades, allowing him to withdraw significant amounts of cryptocurrency, leading to his conviction on charges of commodities fraud, wire fraud, and commodities manipulation.
It remains unclear how prosecutors will respond to Eisenberg’s latest legal maneuver.
