Puerto Rico man charged with $110 million cryptocurrency fraud

Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A Puerto Rico man is scheduled to face charges Thursday in New York City in a $110 million cryptocurrency fraud that involved manipulation of the crypto exchange Mango Markets.

The U.S. Justice Department said in a statement that Avraham Eisenberg allegedly artificially manipulated the price of certain perpetual futures contracts. He faces a maximum of up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

"Exploiting decentralized finance platforms is the new frontier of old school financial crimes in which criminals abuse emerging technologies for their own personal gain," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., said in a statement. "With this prosecution, the criminal division is sending the message that no matter the mechanism used to commit market manipulation and fraud, we will work to hold those responsible to account."

The Justice Department said Mango Markets is a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange with its own crypto token called MNGO.

Eisenberg faces one count of commodities fraud, one count of commodities manipulation and one count of wire fraud. The first two charges each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison upon conviction. The wire fraud count carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.

"The defendant is alleged to have executed a scheme through which he fraudulently acquired over $100 million worth of cryptocurrency," Michael J. Driscoll, FBI New York Field Office assistant director, said in a statement. "The FBI is dedicated to safeguarding the integrity of all financial markets and will ensure any individual willing to exploit one be held responsible in the criminal justice system."

The FBI investigated the case with help from Homeland Security Investigations and IRS Criminal Investigation.