Mango Markets (MNGO)
A Solana DEX whose MNGO token was manipulated by trader Avraham Eisenberg in Oct 2022 to borrow ~$110M against an inflated position. He returned ~$67M; a 2024 jury conviction was vacated on appeal in 2025 (venue + no material misstatement), which prosecutors appealed.
Also known as: Mango Markets, MNGO, Avraham Eisenberg
Summary
Mango Markets was a Solana decentralized exchange with a native token, MNGO. On October 11, 2022, trader Avraham Eisenberg used about $5 million to take both sides of MNGO perpetual-futures positions and bought MNGO across the exchanges feeding Mango's price oracle, inflating the token's price and the value of his long position. He used that inflated collateral to borrow over $100 million from the protocol, then dumped MNGO; he later returned about $67 million in a DAO-mediated settlement. [1][2]
Legal outcome
Eisenberg was charged in January 2023 and convicted by a jury in April 2024 of commodities fraud, commodities manipulation, and wire fraud. In May 2025 a federal judge vacated the convictions and entered an acquittal under Rule 29, citing improper venue and insufficient evidence of a material misrepresentation — noting Mango Markets had "no rules, instructions, or prohibitions about borrowing". Prosecutors appealed. Eisenberg has maintained it was a "legal trading strategy" exploiting a design flaw. [1][2][3]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
Linked scams & cases
People & entities involved
Sources (3)
- Federal Judge Overturns All Criminal Convictions in Mango Markets Case — TRM Labs
- United States v. Eisenberg — Opinion and Order (acquittal) — U.S. District Court (SDNY)
- Prosecutors appeal acquittal of Mango Markets exploiter — DL News
See also
World Liberty Financial (WLFI) — Justin Sun token freezeProjectsWLFI, a DeFi project linked to Donald Trump and his family, blacklisted/froze the wallet of major investor Justin Sun in Sept 2025 — ~540–595M unlocked WLFI tokens (~$107M) plus ~2.4B locked. Sun sued, alleging an undisclosed admin 'blacklist backdoor'; WLFI denied it and threatened a countersuit. The dispute is ongoing.
$MELANIA tokenMarket manipulationA Solana memecoin announced by Melania Trump on Jan 19, 2025. Per FT analysis, ~24 wallets bought in minutes before the public announcement and netted ~$99.6M as retail piled in; the token then fell 95%+. Early buys were traced to wallets linked to $LIBRA figure Hayden Davis. No charges have been filed.
This page was last updated on Jun 15, 2026. View revision history.