Mango Markets crypto trader seeks acquittal or new trial

Avraham Eisenberg, who was convicted in a trial earlier this year, filed for a judgment of acquittal and a motion for a new trial earlier this week.

Judge Arun Subramanian granted the application, allowing Eisenberg’s legal team to move forward. 

The 77-page filing claims that the original trial was “improperly venued” in the Southern District of New York.

“There is simply not a sufficient connection between the evidence at trial and this District because not a single act performed in connection with the crimes of conviction took place in this District, let alone such an act that would have been foreseeable to Mr. Eisenberg,” the lawyers argued. 

Read more: Crypto trader convicted in $110M Mango Markets fraud trial

Eisenberg, at the time, was in Puerto Rico, which is more relevant to the case, lawyers said.

He was arrested in Puerto Rico, after allegedly fleeing, though his legal team argued he was receiving threats after he made off with over $110 million from Mango Markets.

Eisenberg was found guilty on three counts: commodities fraud, wire fraud and commodities manipulation. He was originally arrested in 2022 after prosecutors claimed he exploited $110 million by manipulating Mango Markets futures contracts and inflating swap prices. 

During his April trial, which lasted roughly a week, Eisenberg’s attorneys argued that their client employed a “successful, legal trading strategy.”

His team argued throughout the trial that Mango Markets allowed the trades to take place, which meant Eisenberg didn’t break the law. 

The prosecutors, however, said that it was “clear as day” that Eisenberg “knew” he was committing crimes. 

“The more he pumped, the more he could steal,” they argued earlier this year.

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