Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg, the man behind the infamous 2022 exploit of Solana-based DeFi platform Mango Markets, could face up to eight years in prison, as federal prosecutors push for a severe sentence ahead of his upcoming court appearance on May 1.
In a filing dated April 22, U.S. prosecutors told Judge Arun Subramanian that Eisenberg’s actions constituted a deliberate and calculated attack on Mango Markets, resulting in over $100 million in losses and the effective shutdown of the protocol. The government described the exploit not as clever arbitrage, as Eisenberg had previously claimed, but as outright criminal fraud.
“Fraud that takes over $100 million from investors and effectively shuts down a business is a shocking violation of criminal law,” prosecutors stated in the filing.
Six to Eight Years Sought for Fraud and Market Manipulation
Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 78 to 97 months (roughly 6.5 to 8 years) for Eisenberg. The request takes into account both the severity of the Mango Markets exploit and Eisenberg’s prior guilty plea in an unrelated child exploitation case, though prosecutors emphasized that the crypto fraud alone justifies a lengthy sentence.
Eisenberg was convicted in April of multiple charges, including wire fraud, commodities fraud, and market manipulation, after orchestrating a scheme to inflate the price of Mango’s governance token, MNGO, and then using the artificially boosted token as collateral to drain the platform’s treasury.
Evidence of Premeditation and Evasion
According to the court filing, Eisenberg used false identities, including a Ukrainian woman’s passport to open an account on FTX, and bypassed KYC protocols on AscendEx by masking his IP address to appear as if he were operating from Poland.
Prosecutors also pointed to messages from Eisenberg’s Discord chat history, where he openly discussed the exploit before it happened:
“Buy a ton, massively increase the price, and borrow on lending… you don’t need to sell you can just let the loan stand.”
Following the attack, Eisenberg returned $67 million to Mango DAO, but only under a controversial deal that required the DAO to waive legal claims and refrain from pursuing criminal charges—an arrangement the prosecution described as akin to issuing a “ransom note.”
Further damning evidence includes internet search history showing Eisenberg had researched U.S. fraud laws before launching the attack. After being publicly identified, he reportedly fled to Israel, though he later returned to the U.S. and was arrested.
Victims Demand Restitution
Alongside the sentencing memo, lawyers for Mango Markets submitted a victim impact statement, urging the court to order $47 million in restitution. They argued that while Eisenberg’s attack can’t be undone, the return of misappropriated funds is essential to the recovery of Mango’s user community.
“Although Eisenberg’s attack cannot be undone, return of the funds he misappropriated is critical to righting his wrong,” the statement reads.
Fallout from the Exploit
The long-term consequences of the exploit have been devastating for the Mango ecosystem. In early 2025, Mango Markets was formally shut down after a community vote, citing irreparable reputational damage and legal fallout from the Eisenberg incident.
Eisenberg, for his part, continued to claim his actions were legal, arguing that the trade was within the rules of the protocol. However, prosecutors argue that he knew the difference between legal arbitrage and fraud, and that his post-attack statements were attempts to justify what he knew was criminal behavior.
The Eisenberg case has become a landmark moment for decentralized finance, highlighting the blurred lines between technical exploits and criminal behavior in a largely unregulated space. As the May 1 sentencing hearing approaches, the crypto world watches closely, knowing the outcome could set a powerful precedent for the accountability of DeFi actors.
