Market Manipulation. Search

Market manipulation case library

This library records 2,428 market manipulation enforcement actions brought by financial regulators, each with the agency, the date, the alleged technique, the monetary relief ordered and a link to the regulator's own filing. The whole dataset is downloadable as JSON.

Actions
2,428
Total penalties
$14.3bn
Median penalty
$200k
Agencies
5
Techniques
47

Browse by facet

Every facet below is a real page with its own URL, so it works without JavaScript and can be linked, bookmarked and cited.

By technique

Insider trading 725 Ponzi schemes 602 Unregistered distributions 158 Paid stock promotion 129 Price manipulation 125 Pump and dump 125 Spoofing 118 Wash trading 107 Rule 105 offering shorts 84 Boiler rooms 78 Undisclosed control blocks 59 Reverse merger schemes 59 The naked short selling debate 55 Benchmark submission rigging 49 Matched orders 36 Churning 25 Layering 21 Free riding and parking 18 Marking the close 15 Fake press releases 15 Mismarking 15 Front running 14 Newsletter scalping 14 Cash versus derivatives schemes 13 Hack to trade 13 Sham tender offers 13 Chat group pumps 11 FX fixing 11 Social media ramps 10 EDGAR filing fraud 10 Paid crypto market making 8 Custodianship shell hijacking 6 False rumours 5 Shell factories 5 Hijacked-account ramping 4 Settlement price manipulation 4 Banging the close 3 Short and distort 3 Marking the open 2 Engineered short squeeze 2 Rug pulls 1 Insider listing trading 1 Oracle manipulation 1 Exchange wash trading 1 Float locking 1 Dilution death spirals 1 Options expiry pinning 1

By agency

ASIC 112 CFTC 344 FCA 47 OSC 69 SEC 1856

By year filed

2026 89 2025 114 2024 189 2023 208 2022 176 2021 154 2020 186 2019 192 2018 239 2017 218 2016 198 2015 217 2014 136 2013 102 2012 1 2011 4 2009 1 2007 1 2005 1 2004 2

Ranked lists: largest penalties · largest spoofing penalties · longest sentences · most-charged individuals · biggest crypto cases · most active courts

All actions, newest first

Action Agency Filed Technique Penalty Status
SEC v. Jeffrey P. Carpoff and Paulette Carpoff (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-01-24 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Benjamin L. Bunker, Esq. (pump and dump, 2020) SEC 2020-01-23 Pump And Dump , Reverse Merger Schemes +1 — unknown
CFTC v. Australian Company (spoofing, 2020) CFTC 2020-01-21 Spoofing $462k judgment
SEC v. Guy Scott Griffithe, Robert William Russell, Renewable Technologies Solution, Inc., Green Acres Pharms, LLC, and others (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-01-21 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Drake et al., Messier et al., Brooks (boiler rooms, 2020) SEC 2020-01-16 Boiler Rooms — judgment
SEC v. Lidingo Holdings, LLC, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-01-14 Paid Stock Promotion — judgment
CFTC v. South Korean Company (spoofing, 2020) CFTC 2020-01-13 Spoofing $700k judgment
SEC v. Robert O. Carr and Katherine M. Hanratty (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-01-13 Insider Trading $251k judgment
CFTC v. US Coin Bullion LLC and its Owners (ponzi schemes, 2020) CFTC 2020-01-10 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Bajic et al., Ciapala et al. (unregistered distributions, 2020) SEC 2020-01-10 Unregistered Distributions — filed
SEC v. John James Sheehan, Jr. (unregistered distributions, 2020) SEC 2020-01-10 Unregistered Distributions $37.5k settled
SEC v. Donald G. Blakstad (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-01-08 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Edward Espinal and Cash Flow Partners, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-01-07 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Ulrik Debo (custodianship shell hijacking, 2020) SEC 2020-01-03 Custodianship Shell Hijacking , Pump And Dump +1 — filed
SEC v. James V. Mazzo, et al. (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-01-02 Insider Trading $56k judgment
SEC v. Pinto-Thomaz, et al. (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-01-02 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Amir Waldman, et al. (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-12-23 Insider Trading — judgment
CFTC v. Executive at Global Investment Bank (price manipulation, 2019) CFTC 2019-12-20 Price Manipulation — filed
SEC v. S. Paul Kelley, et al. (reverse merger schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-12-20 Reverse Merger Schemes , Unregistered Distributions — unknown
SEC v. Songjiang Wang (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-12-20 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Retirement Surety LLC Crescendo Financial LLC Rose and others (unregistered distributions, 2019) SEC 2019-12-20 Unregistered Distributions — appealed
SEC v. Janardhan Nellore et al. (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-12-18 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. Robert A. Karmann (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-12-18 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Sam A. Antar (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-12-18 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. John Special, Defendant, and Michael Murphy, Relief Defendant, John Kenneth Davidson (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-12-12 Insider Trading $1.5m judgment
CFTC v. New Mexico Resident (ponzi schemes, 2019) CFTC 2019-12-10 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Christopher Collins, et al. (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-12-10 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Jeffrey O. Friedland, Global Corporate Strategies LLC., and Intiva Pharma, LLC (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-12-09 Paid Stock Promotion $2m judgment
SEC v. Lester Burroughs (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-12-05 Ponzi Schemes — filed
CFTC v. unnamed respondents (spoofing, 2019) CFTC 2019-11-25 Spoofing — unknown
SEC v. Brett Pittsenbargar, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-11-25 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Kevin B. Merrill, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-11-25 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Bandimere and others (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-11-22 Ponzi Schemes , Unregistered Distributions $130k settled
SEC v. Richard Lee, et al. (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-11-21 Insider Trading $130k judgment
SEC v. Ruless Pierre a/k/a Rules Pierre (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-11-21 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Burkholz, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-11-20 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. James S. Kimmel (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-11-19 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. Sebastian Pinto-Thomaz (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-11-12 Insider Trading — judgment
CFTC v. Mitsubishi Corporation RtM Japan Ltd. (spoofing, 2019) CFTC 2019-11-07 Spoofing $500k judgment
CFTC v. Proprietary Trading Firm (spoofing, 2019) CFTC 2019-11-07 Spoofing $24.4m judgment
SEC v. David N. Osegueda, et al. (pump and dump, 2019) SEC 2019-11-06 Pump And Dump — judgment
SEC v. Richard Eden, et al. and Dale Pearlman (undisclosed control blocks, 2019) SEC 2019-11-04 Undisclosed Control Blocks $125k settled
SEC v. Bovorn Rungruangnavarat (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-10-31 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. DFRF Enterprises LLC, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-10-29 Ponzi Schemes $1m judgment
SEC v. Benjamin Taylor, Darina Windsor and Joseph Abdul Noor El-Khouri (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-10-22 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Bryan Cohen and George Nikas (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-10-22 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. Joseph Bayliss and Ronald Roach (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-10-22 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Michael J. Starkweather and Andiamo Corporation, William White (matched orders, 2019) SEC 2019-10-17 Matched Orders , Paid Stock Promotion — filed
CFTC v. Nevada Company and its Owner (ponzi schemes, 2019) CFTC 2019-10-16 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
CFTC v. unnamed respondents (ponzi schemes, 2019) CFTC 2019-10-15 Ponzi Schemes $12.6m judgment
SEC v. Eric J. "EJ" Dalius et al. (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-10-15 Ponzi Schemes , Undisclosed Control Blocks — unknown
OSC v. Aly Babu Husein Mawji (pump and dump, 2019) OSC 2019-10-11 Pump And Dump — appealed
SEC v. Anton Senderov, et al. (boiler rooms, 2019) SEC 2019-10-10 Boiler Rooms — filed
SEC v. Daniel Rivas, et al. (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-10-10 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Lek Securities Corp., et al. (layering, 2019) SEC 2019-10-10 Layering $1m judgment
CFTC v. Sechovich (wash trading, 2019) CFTC 2019-10-07 Wash Trading — judgment
CFTC v. Chicago Trading Firm Belvedere Trading LLC (spoofing, 2019) CFTC 2019-10-01 Spoofing $1.1m judgment
CFTC v. Energy Broker and Its Owner (front running, 2019) CFTC 2019-10-01 Front Running $1.5m judgment
CFTC v. Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc. (spoofing, 2019) CFTC 2019-10-01 Spoofing $1.5m judgment
CFTC v. RBC Capital Markets (wash trading, 2019) CFTC 2019-10-01 Wash Trading $5m judgment
CFTC v. Trading Firm Mitsubishi International Corporation (spoofing, 2019) CFTC 2019-10-01 Spoofing $400k judgment
CFTC v. Two Trading Firms (spoofing, 2019) CFTC 2019-10-01 Spoofing $1.5m judgment
CFTC v. Chicago Trading Firm and Its Co-Founder (price manipulation, 2019) CFTC 2019-09-30 Price Manipulation , Spoofing $1.8m judgment
SEC v. Block.One (unregistered distributions, 2019) SEC 2019-09-30 Unregistered Distributions $24m settled
SEC v. Gil Beserglik, et al. (boiler rooms, 2019) SEC 2019-09-30 Boiler Rooms — filed
SEC v. James T. Booth (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-09-30 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. iQuantifi, Inc. and Thomas F. White (unregistered distributions, 2019) SEC 2019-09-27 Unregistered Distributions $25k settled
SEC v. Sean Stewart, et al. (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-09-26 Insider Trading — appealed
OSC v. Solar Income Fund Inc. and others (ponzi schemes, 2019) OSC 2019-09-26 Ponzi Schemes — dismissed
SEC v. Andres Fernandez and Edison Denizard (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-09-25 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Chip Hackley (matched orders, 2019) SEC 2019-09-25 Matched Orders , Undisclosed Control Blocks — unknown
SEC v. George Matin (matched orders, 2019) SEC 2019-09-25 Matched Orders , Paid Stock Promotion +2 — settled
SEC v. Harold Minsky (matched orders, 2019) SEC 2019-09-25 Matched Orders , Paid Stock Promotion +2 — settled
SEC v. James Alex Irvin (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-09-25 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. William M. Apostelos, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-09-25 Ponzi Schemes , Unregistered Distributions — judgment
SEC v. James Wallace Nall, III, et al. (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-09-24 Insider Trading $140k judgment
SEC v. Benjamin Conde, Defendant, and others (boiler rooms, 2019) SEC 2019-09-23 Boiler Rooms — filed
CFTC v. Trader and his Company (ponzi schemes, 2019) CFTC 2019-09-19 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Brian Robert Sodi, et al. (newsletter scalping, 2019) SEC 2019-09-19 Newsletter Scalping , Paid Stock Promotion +1 — settled
Corporate finance director charged with conspiring to manipulate market (ASIC, 2019) ASIC 2019-09-18 Price Manipulation — filed
SEC v. Mediatrix Capital Inc., et al. (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-09-18 Ponzi Schemes — filed
CFTC v. Christian Trunz (spoofing, 2019) CFTC 2019-09-16 Spoofing — judgment
CFTC v. Futures Trader and Industrial Firm (spoofing, 2019) CFTC 2019-09-16 Spoofing $130k judgment
CFTC v. Traders at Major U.S. Bank (price manipulation, 2019) CFTC 2019-09-16 Price Manipulation , Spoofing — filed
SEC v. Vandham Securities Corp. (boiler rooms, 2019) SEC 2019-09-16 Boiler Rooms , Naked Short Selling Debate +1 $200k settled
SEC v. Bio Defense Corporation, et al. (boiler rooms, 2019) SEC 2019-09-13 Boiler Rooms , Unregistered Distributions $37.5m judgment
Former director convicted of market manipulation (ASIC, 2019) ASIC 2019-09-09 Price Manipulation — unknown
CFTC v. Unregistered Forex Trading Firm and Its Principal (ponzi schemes, 2019) CFTC 2019-09-09 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Abner Silva (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-09-06 Insider Trading $80k settled
SEC v. Toon Goggles Inc., et al. (boiler rooms, 2019) SEC 2019-09-06 Boiler Rooms — judgment
SEC v. Keith G. Daubenspeck and Geoffrey L. Homer (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-09-05 Insider Trading $111k judgment
SEC v. Executive Financial Services, Inc. (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-09-04 Ponzi Schemes , Unregistered Distributions — unknown
SEC v. Morrie Tobin et al. (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-08-30 Paid Stock Promotion , Reverse Merger Schemes — filed
SEC v. Live Well Financial, Inc., Michael C. Hild, Eric Rohr, and Darren Stumberger (mismarking, 2019) SEC 2019-08-29 Mismarking — settled
SEC v. EMS Capital LP (naked short selling debate, 2019) SEC 2019-08-27 Naked Short Selling Debate $60k settled
OSC v. Royal Bank of Canada (front running, 2019) OSC 2019-08-26 Front Running , FX Fixing +3 — settled
OSC v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank (benchmark submission rigging, 2019) OSC 2019-08-26 Benchmark Submission Rigging , Front Running +3 — settled
SEC v. Baker and others (unregistered distributions, 2019) SEC 2019-08-26 Unregistered Distributions — judgment
SEC v. Terry Wayne Kelly and Kelly Management, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-08-22 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. ICO Rating (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-08-20 Paid Stock Promotion — settled