Market Manipulation. Search

Market manipulation case library

This library records 2,117 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
2,117
Total penalties
$15.4bn
Median penalty
$258k
Agencies
2
Techniques
36

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 608 Ponzi schemes 532 Paid stock promotion 219 Unregistered distributions 136 Pump and dump 121 Undisclosed control blocks 119 Spoofing 114 Wash trading 90 Price manipulation 72 Boiler rooms 71 Reverse merger schemes 66 The naked short selling debate 41 Benchmark submission rigging 32 Matched orders 24 Churning 19 Free riding and parking 18 Fake press releases 16 Layering 15 Newsletter scalping 15 Marking the close 10 Cash versus derivatives schemes 10 Front running 9 Shell factories 8 Chat group pumps 6 False rumours 5 Custodianship shell hijacking 5 Settlement price manipulation 4 Exchange wash trading 3 Banging the close 3 FX fixing 3 Engineered short squeeze 2 Marking the open 1 Rug pulls 1 Insider listing trading 1 Oracle manipulation 1 Float locking 1

By agency

CFTC 349 SEC 1768

By year filed

2026 85 2025 103 2024 182 2023 202 2022 174 2021 142 2020 178 2019 181 2018 221 2017 210 2016 179 2015 205 2014 27 2013 28

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. Jonathan H. Seigel, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-05-21 Ponzi Schemes , Unregistered Distributions — filed
SEC v. Mark "Christian" Ramsey (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-05-21 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. David N. Osegueda, Ishmail Calvin Ross, aka Calvin Ross, Zachary R. Logan, and Jessica Snyder, fka Jessica Gutierrez (pump and dump, 2019) SEC 2019-05-20 Pump And Dump — filed
SEC v. Andrew I. Farmer, Scott R. Sieck, Eddie D. Austin, Jr., Carolyn P. Austin, and John D. Brotherton (pump and dump, 2019) SEC 2019-05-17 Pump And Dump — judgment
SEC v. Robert M. Schulman, Esq. (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-05-16 Insider Trading — appealed
SEC v. Wilson-Davis & Co., Inc. (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-05-15 Paid Stock Promotion , Pump And Dump +1 — settled
SEC v. Brian Fettner, et al. (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-05-14 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Bryan B. Long, CPA (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-05-13 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Robert M. Morano (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-05-13 Insider Trading — judgment
CFTC v. CEO of Managed Fund (ponzi schemes, 2019) CFTC 2019-05-10 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Lloyd Schuman and Dane Janes (Corrected Version) (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-05-09 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Rocco Roveccio (churning, 2019) SEC 2019-05-06 Churning — judgment
SEC v. One or More Unknown Traders in the Securities of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-04-29 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Christopher D. Dougherty, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-04-26 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Charter Capital Management, LLC and Steven Morris Bruce (undisclosed control blocks, 2019) SEC 2019-04-23 Undisclosed Control Blocks $40k settled
CFTC v. Forex Trading Firms and Principals (ponzi schemes, 2019) CFTC 2019-04-22 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. David M. Loflin (pump and dump, 2019) SEC 2019-04-22 Pump And Dump — settled
SEC v. Dov Zaidman, CPA and and ZBS Group LLP (shell factories, 2019) SEC 2019-04-22 Shell Factories — settled
SEC v. Yuh-Yue Chen (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-04-18 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. Quentin Louis Wilcox (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-04-16 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Ivan Acevedo & Dane R. Roseman (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-04-12 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. James M. Schneider, Esq. (reverse merger schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-04-10 Reverse Merger Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Paul Bannon Powers (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-04-10 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Scott Newsholme (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-04-05 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Tai-Cheng Yang (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-04-05 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Evan R. Kita, et al. (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-04-04 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Tiber Creek Corp. and James M. Cassidy (reverse merger schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-03-26 Reverse Merger Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Carol Ann Pedersen (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-03-20 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Frank Morelli III and Louis Buonocore (pump and dump, 2019) SEC 2019-03-20 Pump And Dump — dismissed
SEC v. Kent R.E. Whitney, David Lee Parrish, The Church for the Healthy Self a/k/a CHS Trust, and CHS Asset Management Inc. (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-03-18 Paid Stock Promotion , Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. William Neil "Doc" Gallagher, Gallagher Financial Group, Inc., and W. Neil Gallagher, Ph.D. Agency, Inc. (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-03-12 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Ascension Asset Management, LLC Gooder and Grenville M., JR. (undisclosed control blocks, 2019) SEC 2019-03-07 Undisclosed Control Blocks — unknown
CFTC v. Defendants (ponzi schemes, 2019) CFTC 2019-03-04 Ponzi Schemes $5.9m judgment
SEC v. Rong Chen, et al. (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-03-04 Insider Trading $167k judgment
SEC v. William C. Gennity (churning, 2019) SEC 2019-03-04 Churning — judgment
CFTC v. Krishna Mohan (spoofing, 2019) CFTC 2019-02-25 Spoofing — dismissed
SEC v. Walter C. Little and Andrew M. Berke (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-02-22 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Joseph Frank Vacante (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-02-21 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Gene Daniel Levoff (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-02-13 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. Jason McDiarmid, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-02-12 Paid Stock Promotion , Pump And Dump — judgment
SEC v. NL Technology, LLC et al. (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-02-11 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Daniel J. Callahan (insider trading, 2019) SEC 2019-02-08 Insider Trading $19.4k settled
SEC v. Spark Trading Group, LLC and Niket Shah (ponzi schemes, 2019) SEC 2019-02-08 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
CFTC v. Andre Flotron (spoofing, 2019) CFTC 2019-02-07 Spoofing $100k judgment
SEC v. Edward Withrow, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-02-05 Paid Stock Promotion — filed
SEC v. Anthony J. Thompson, Jr., et al. (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-02-01 Paid Stock Promotion , Pump And Dump — settled
CFTC v. Proprietary Trader (spoofing, 2019) CFTC 2019-01-31 Spoofing $120k judgment
SEC v. ADT Inc. (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-12-26 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Cherubim Interests, Inc., PDX Partners, Inc., Victura Construction Group, Inc., and Patrick Jevon Johnson (pump and dump, 2018) SEC 2018-12-26 Pump And Dump — unknown
SEC v. BioElectronics Corp. IBEX, LLC St. John's, LLC Whelan and others (unregistered distributions, 2018) SEC 2018-12-21 Unregistered Distributions $650k judgment
SEC v. Natural Blue Resources, Inc. Cohen and others (reverse merger schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-12-21 Reverse Merger Schemes $75k judgment
SEC v. Tod A. Ditommaso, Esq. (unregistered distributions, 2018) SEC 2018-12-21 Unregistered Distributions — settled
SEC v. Wealthfront Advisers, LLC and and Wealthfront, Inc. (wash trading, 2018) SEC 2018-12-21 Wash Trading — settled
SEC v. Robert S. "Lute" Davis, Jr., et al., Jordan E. Goodman., Alan H. New, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-12-19 Ponzi Schemes $100k settled
CFTC v. Chicago-area Trader (ponzi schemes, 2018) CFTC 2018-12-17 Ponzi Schemes — settled
CFTC v. Gaylen Rust (ponzi schemes, 2018) CFTC 2018-12-17 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Peter Cho (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-12-17 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. The Bank of New York Mellon (naked short selling debate, 2018) SEC 2018-12-17 Naked Short Selling Debate — settled
SEC v. America Modern Green Senior (Houston) LLC and America Modern Green Community (Houston) LLC and America Modern Green Residential (Houston) LLC (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-12-12 Paid Stock Promotion $800k settled
SEC v. Lai Guanglin (Alan) (marking the close, 2018) SEC 2018-12-10 Marking The Close , Price Manipulation — settled
SEC v. Rajeshwar R. Gannamaneni, Deepthi Gandra, and Linga R. Gannamaneni (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-12-10 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. CoinAlpha Advisors LLC (unregistered distributions, 2018) SEC 2018-12-07 Unregistered Distributions — settled
SEC v. NVC Fund LLC and Frank Ekejija (pump and dump, 2018) SEC 2018-12-07 Pump And Dump — unknown
SEC v. David G. Dreslin, et al. (reverse merger schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-12-03 Reverse Merger Schemes $25k settled
SEC v. Fifth Street Management, LLC (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-12-03 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Eric T. Landis et al. (matched orders, 2018) SEC 2018-11-29 Matched Orders , Paid Stock Promotion — filed
SEC v. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-11-29 Paid Stock Promotion — settled
SEC v. Khaled Khaled (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-11-29 Paid Stock Promotion — settled
SEC v. Morrie Tobin et al. (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-11-28 Paid Stock Promotion — filed
CFTC v. Defendants Gaylen Dean Rust (ponzi schemes, 2018) CFTC 2018-11-16 Ponzi Schemes — filed
CFTC v. unnamed respondents (insider trading, 2018) CFTC 2018-11-15 Insider Trading , Spoofing — unknown
SEC v. Mark Burnett, Jeffrey Miller, Christian Romandetti, Frank Sarro, Anthony Vassallo, and Elite Stock Research, Inc. (boiler rooms, 2018) SEC 2018-11-15 Boiler Rooms — filed
SEC v. James V. Mazzo, et al. (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-11-14 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Arthur Lamar Adams et al. (ponzi schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-11-09 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Joseph Meli, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-11-09 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Kevin B. Merrill, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-11-09 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Pyxus International, Inc. (wash trading, 2018) SEC 2018-11-09 Wash Trading — settled
SEC v. Craig H. Carton, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-11-08 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. James E. Hengen (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-11-08 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Michael E. Cone, et al (boiler rooms, 2018) SEC 2018-11-08 Boiler Rooms — filed
SEC v. SeeThruEquity, LLC et al. (newsletter scalping, 2018) SEC 2018-11-08 Newsletter Scalping , Paid Stock Promotion — filed
SEC v. Slobodan Dragojlovic (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-11-08 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Citibank, N.A. (naked short selling debate, 2018) SEC 2018-11-07 Naked Short Selling Debate — settled
SEC v. Mark E. Fisher, Esq. (fake press releases, 2018) SEC 2018-11-02 Fake Press Releases , Pump And Dump — judgment
SEC v. Brian Weber and Bebida Beverage Co. (fake press releases, 2018) SEC 2018-10-31 Fake Press Releases , Paid Stock Promotion — judgment
SEC v. Philip Thomas Kueber (undisclosed control blocks, 2018) SEC 2018-10-26 Undisclosed Control Blocks — judgment
SEC v. John Madsen, Andalusian Resorts and others (fake press releases, 2018) SEC 2018-10-23 Fake Press Releases , Pump And Dump +1 — judgment
SEC v. Mark E. Fisher and Joseph F. Capuozzo (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-10-22 Paid Stock Promotion , Pump And Dump — settled
SEC v. Zachary S. Berkey (churning, 2018) SEC 2018-10-19 Churning — judgment
CFTC v. GBI (ponzi schemes, 2018) CFTC 2018-10-18 Ponzi Schemes $2.5m judgment
SEC v. Richard J. Greenlaw et al. (unregistered distributions, 2018) SEC 2018-10-18 Unregistered Distributions — judgment
SEC v. Bryan B. Long (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-10-16 Insider Trading — filed
CFTC v. Kamaldeep Gandhi (spoofing, 2018) CFTC 2018-10-12 Spoofing — judgment
SEC v. Harold L. Altvater (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-10-11 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Merrill, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-10-11 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Dennis Wayne Hamilton (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-10-10 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Jeffre James and others (pump and dump, 2018) SEC 2018-10-09 Pump And Dump — unknown
SEC v. Robert O. Carr and Katherine M. Hanratty (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-10-05 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Todd Elliott Hitt, Kiddar Capital LLC, Kiddar Group Holdings, Inc., as Defendants, and Kiddar AQ LLC a/k/a Kiddar Aquicore LLC, as Relief Defendants (ponzi schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-10-05 Ponzi Schemes — settled
CFTC v. Owner of Precious Metals Firm (ponzi schemes, 2018) CFTC 2018-10-03 Ponzi Schemes — filed