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‘Enforcement 40’ for 2020
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Join the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group on LinkedInU.S. bankers urge SEC to probe short sales, reduce ‘abusive’ trading | Reuters
The American Bankers Association on Thursday urged federal regulators to investigate a spate of significant short sales of publicly traded banking equities that it said were “disconnected from the underlying financial realities.” In a letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, the lobby group said it had also observed “extensive social media […]
SEC Charges Eight Social Media Influencers in $100 Million Stock Manipulation Scheme Promoted on Discord and Twitter
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against eight individuals in a $100 million securities fraud scheme in which they used the social media platforms Twitter and Discord to manipulate exchange-traded stocks. According to the SEC, since at least January 2020, seven of the defendants promoted themselves as successful traders and cultivated hundreds of […]
SEC Charges Father-Son Duo and Associate in Market Manipulation Schemes Resulting in a New Jersey Deli with a $100 Million Valuation
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Peter L. Coker Sr., Peter L. Coker Jr., and James T. Patten for their roles in orchestrating fraudulent manipulative securities trading schemes. These schemes included artificially inflating the share price of Hometown International, which operated a New Jersey deli producing less than $40,000 in annual revenue, from approximately $1 […]
SEC Wins Jury Trial in Layering, Manipulative Trading Case
Today, jurors in New York federal court returned a verdict in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s favor against a trading firm headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, and two individuals for their roles in an unlawful trading scheme that generated more than $25 million in illicit profit. The SEC’s evidence at trial showed that Nathan Fayyer and […]
Study: Single anonymous market manipulator pushed bitcoin to $20,000
A forensic study on bitcoin’s 2017 boom has found that nearly the entire rise of the digital currency at the time is attributable to “one large player,” although the market manipulator remains unidentified. Finance professors John Griffin and Amin Shams – instructors at University of Texas and the Ohio State University, respectively – analyzed over […]
SEC Charges Microcap Fraudsters for Roles in Lucrative Market Manipulation Schemes
According to the SEC’s complaint, from 2013 to 2018, a group of prolific South Florida-based microcap fraudsters led by Barry Honig manipulated the share price of the stock of three companies in classic pump-and-dump schemes. Miami biotech billionaire Phillip Frost allegedly participated in two of these three schemes. Honig allegedly orchestrated the acquisition of large […]
Hedge Fund Priest’s Trades Probed by Wall Street Cop – Bloomberg Business
A priest who sidelines as a hedge-fund manager is being investigated by U.S. regulators for possible stock manipulation, prompting scrutiny of trading skills that the cleric has described as a “gift from God,” according to people with knowledge of the matter. via Hedge Fund Priest’s Trades Probed by Wall Street Cop – Bloomberg Business
SEC, DOJ Pursue Scottish Trader for ‘False Tweets’ | Compliance Week
Market manipulation is nothing new, of course, but both the SEC and DOJ pursued a social media-age method of illegally moving the market last week when they brought securities fraud charges against a Scottish trader whose allegedly used “false tweets” to caused the stock prices of two companies to plunge. via SEC, DOJ Pursue Scottish Trader […]
Singapore spares ‘no effort’ in biggest securities fraud probe, Companies & Markets – THE BUSINESS TIMES
Singapore warned that it’s sparing no effort in its largest securities-fraud probe as it seeks to shore up confidence after an S$8 billion stock rout in 2013…. The white-collar crime agency and the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced in April 2014 they were probing suspected stock-trading irregularities related to Asiasons Capital Ltd, Blumont Group and […]