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. Saverio J. Barbera (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-04-05 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Christopher James Lollar (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-04-04 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Michael Scronic (ponzi schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-04-04 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Shane P. Fleming, et al. (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-04-04 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Sohrab ("Sam") Sharma and Robert Farkas (unregistered distributions, 2018) SEC 2018-04-02 Unregistered Distributions — filed
OSC v. Martin Bernholtz (insider trading, 2018) OSC 2018-03-29 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. Aegis Capital Corporation (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-03-28 Paid Stock Promotion , Pump And Dump — filed
SEC v. Terracciano and Eugene (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-03-28 Paid Stock Promotion — unknown
OSC v. David Tuan Seng Lim and Michael Mugford (price manipulation, 2018) OSC 2018-03-28 Price Manipulation — unknown
SEC v. Nauman A. Aly (sham tender offers, 2018) SEC 2018-03-28 EDGAR Filing Fraud , Sham Tender Offers — unknown
SEC v. Timary Delorme (pump and dump, 2018) SEC 2018-03-27 Pump And Dump $50k settled
SEC v. Joseph Spera, et al. (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-03-26 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Jon E. Montroll and Bitfunder (unregistered distributions, 2018) SEC 2018-03-23 Unregistered Distributions — filed
SEC v. Spark Trading Group LLC and Niket Shah (ponzi schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-03-23 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Jun Ying (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-03-22 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Robert W. Murray (sham tender offers, 2018) SEC 2018-03-22 EDGAR Filing Fraud , Sham Tender Offers — unknown
SEC v. Steven Metro (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-03-19 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Beaufort Securities Ltd. and others (matched orders, 2018) SEC 2018-03-16 Matched Orders , Pump And Dump — filed
SEC v. Merrill Lynch and Pierce and Fenner & Smith Incorporated (unregistered distributions, 2018) SEC 2018-03-08 Unregistered Distributions $1.3m settled
SEC v. New York Stock Exchange LLC and NYSE American LLC and NYSE Arca, Inc. (benchmark submission rigging, 2018) SEC 2018-03-06 Benchmark Submission Rigging — settled
SEC v. Stefan Lumiere (mismarking, 2018) SEC 2018-03-05 Mismarking — judgment
SEC v. AmeraTex Energy, Inc., et al (unregistered distributions, 2018) SEC 2018-02-28 Unregistered Distributions — filed
SEC v. Analytica Bio-Energy Corp., et al., Marvin Winick (undisclosed control blocks, 2018) SEC 2018-02-28 Undisclosed Control Blocks — judgment
SEC v. Yang Xie (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-02-28 Insider Trading $6.7k settled
SEC v. Eric McPhail, et al. (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-02-20 Insider Trading — judgment
FCA v. Guillaume Adolph (benchmark submission rigging, 2018) FCA 2018-02-15 Benchmark Submission Rigging — settled
SEC v. Ara Chackerian (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-02-12 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Geoffrey H. Lunn, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-02-12 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
Operators of 'binary options trading boiler room' banned following conviction (ASIC, 2018) ASIC 2018-02-08 Boiler Rooms — unknown
CFTC v. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (benchmark submission rigging, 2018) CFTC 2018-02-01 Benchmark Submission Rigging , Price Manipulation $70m judgment
ASIC commences civil penalty proceedings against Commonwealth Bank of Australia for BBSW conduct (2018) ASIC 2018-01-30 Price Manipulation — judgment
SEC v. Daniel T. Fischer (churning, 2018) SEC 2018-01-30 Churning — judgment
CFTC v. Andre Flotron (spoofing, 2018) CFTC 2018-01-29 Spoofing — filed
CFTC v. Deutsche Bank (price manipulation, 2018) CFTC 2018-01-29 Price Manipulation , Spoofing $30m judgment
CFTC v. HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. Pay $1.6 Million Penalty (spoofing, 2018) CFTC 2018-01-29 Spoofing $1.6m judgment
CFTC v. James Vorley and Cedric Chanu (spoofing, 2018) CFTC 2018-01-29 Spoofing — filed
CFTC v. Jiongsheng Zhao (spoofing, 2018) CFTC 2018-01-29 Spoofing — filed
CFTC v. Jitesh Thakkar and Edge Financial Technologies (spoofing, 2018) CFTC 2018-01-29 Spoofing — filed
CFTC v. Three Banks (price manipulation, 2018) CFTC 2018-01-29 Price Manipulation , Spoofing $1.6m judgment
CFTC v. Trader Krishna Mohan (spoofing, 2018) CFTC 2018-01-29 Spoofing — filed
CFTC v. UBS (price manipulation, 2018) CFTC 2018-01-29 Price Manipulation , Spoofing $15m judgment
SEC v. One or More Unknown Traders in the Securities of Bioverativ, Inc. (insider trading, 2018) SEC 2018-01-26 Insider Trading — judgment
CFTC v. Randall Crater (ponzi schemes, 2018) CFTC 2018-01-24 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Ash Narayan, The Ticket Reserve Inc. a/k/a Forward Market Media, Inc., Richard M. Harmon, and John A. Kaptrosky (ponzi schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-01-22 Ponzi Schemes $325k judgment
CFTC v. Colorado Resident Dillon Michael Dean and His Company (ponzi schemes, 2018) CFTC 2018-01-19 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. David S. Haddad, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2018) SEC 2018-01-11 Ponzi Schemes $181k judgment
FCA v. Neil Danziger (benchmark submission rigging, 2018) FCA 2018-01-08 Benchmark Submission Rigging , Cash Vs Derivatives Schemes +1 — unknown
SEC v. Robert H. Shapiro, Woodbridge Group of Companies, LLC, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2017) SEC 2017-12-21 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Stephen C. Peters, VisionQuest Wealth Management, LLC, VisionQuest Capital, LLC, and VQ Wealth, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2017) SEC 2017-12-21 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Ronald A. Fossum, Jr. and Alonzo R. Cahoon (unregistered distributions, 2017) SEC 2017-12-20 Unregistered Distributions — filed
SEC v. Jason A. Wallace (boiler rooms, 2017) SEC 2017-12-18 Boiler Rooms — judgment
ASIC v. Interactive Brokers LLC (marking the close, 2017) ASIC 2017-12-14 Marking The Close $250k unknown
SEC v. Kenneth Peer (insider trading, 2017) SEC 2017-12-14 Insider Trading $10.2k settled
SEC v. Lanny Brown, et al. (insider trading, 2017) SEC 2017-12-14 Insider Trading — judgment
AAT upholds ASIC bans of client advisers for trading in 'MINI' warrants (ASIC, 2017) ASIC 2017-12-11 Matched Orders — appealed
OSC v. Aurora Cannabis Inc. and others (insider trading, 2017) OSC 2017-12-08 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Stephen J. Leonard (insider trading, 2017) SEC 2017-12-07 Insider Trading $107k judgment
SEC v. Palladino and James M. (paid stock promotion, 2017) SEC 2017-11-29 Paid Stock Promotion — unknown
CFTC v. unnamed respondents (spoofing, 2017) CFTC 2017-11-22 Spoofing , Wash Trading — unknown
FCA v. Paul Axel Walter Individual (price manipulation, 2017) FCA 2017-11-22 Price Manipulation — judgment
SEC v. Capital Financial Partners, LLC et al. (ponzi schemes, 2017) SEC 2017-11-17 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
Caloundra man charged for insider trading (ASIC, 2017) ASIC 2017-11-16 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Pedro Fort Berbel et al. (ponzi schemes, 2017) SEC 2017-11-16 Ponzi Schemes — filed
CFTC v. INTL FCStone Financial Inc. and FCStone Merchant Services LLC (wash trading, 2017) CFTC 2017-11-14 Wash Trading $280k judgment
CFTC v. Statoil ASA (price manipulation, 2017) CFTC 2017-11-14 Price Manipulation , Settlement Price Manipulation $4m judgment
SEC v. Susan L. Ellerin and Edward D. Blumstein (insider trading, 2017) SEC 2017-11-14 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. The End of the Rainbow Partners, L.L.C., and others (ponzi schemes, 2017) SEC 2017-11-14 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
Operators of 'binary options trading boiler room' convicted and sentenced (ASIC, 2017) ASIC 2017-11-09 Boiler Rooms — unknown
SEC v. Robert W. Murray (sham tender offers, 2017) SEC 2017-11-09 EDGAR Filing Fraud , Sham Tender Offers — filed
SEC v. James P. Kolf (ponzi schemes, 2017) SEC 2017-11-03 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Joseph Meli, et al. and Craig H. Carton, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2017) SEC 2017-10-31 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Millennium Management LLC (rule 105 offering shorts, 2017) SEC 2017-10-31 Rule 105 Offering Shorts $300k settled
SEC v. Andalusian Resorts and others (fake press releases, 2017) SEC 2017-10-30 Fake Press Releases , Pump And Dump +1 — filed
SEC v. Joseph P. Willner (hijacked account ramping, 2017) SEC 2017-10-30 Hijacked Account Ramping — judgment
SEC v. Artemus Mayor (paid stock promotion, 2017) SEC 2017-10-26 Pump And Dump $160k settled
SEC v. Canterbury Consulting, Inc. (churning, 2017) SEC 2017-10-26 Churning $100k settled
SEC v. Artemus Mayor (pump and dump, 2017) SEC 2017-10-26 Pump And Dump $160k settled
SEC v. J. Patrick O'Neill and Robert H. Bray (insider trading, 2017) SEC 2017-10-25 Insider Trading — appealed
SEC v. James M. Schneider (pump and dump, 2017) SEC 2017-10-11 Pump And Dump , Reverse Merger Schemes — filed
CFTC v. Arab Global Commodities DMCC (spoofing, 2017) CFTC 2017-10-10 Spoofing $300k judgment
SEC v. Marc A. Celello (ponzi schemes, 2017) SEC 2017-10-06 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Homero Joshua Garza (ponzi schemes, 2017) SEC 2017-10-04 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Arun J. Singh (insider trading, 2017) SEC 2017-10-03 Insider Trading $25k judgment
SEC v. Jammin' Java Corp. et al. (pump and dump, 2017) SEC 2017-10-03 Pump And Dump $26.4m appealed
CFTC v. California Residents Hasan Sarwar a/k/a Alexander Sarwar (ponzi schemes, 2017) CFTC 2017-09-30 Ponzi Schemes — filed
CFTC v. Logista Advisors LLC (spoofing, 2017) CFTC 2017-09-30 Spoofing $250k judgment
CFTC v. Connecticut-Based Tillage Commodities (spoofing, 2017) CFTC 2017-09-29 Spoofing $150k judgment
SEC v. Avaneesh Krishnamoorthy (insider trading, 2017) SEC 2017-09-29 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Jason McDiarmid, et al. (boiler rooms, 2017) SEC 2017-09-29 Boiler Rooms , Pump And Dump — unknown
SEC v. Micheal A. Skerry (newsletter scalping, 2017) SEC 2017-09-29 Newsletter Scalping , Paid Stock Promotion +1 $100k judgment
SEC v. David Howard Welch, et al (boiler rooms, 2017) SEC 2017-09-28 Boiler Rooms — settled
SEC v. Fengjiu Zhang and Xianli Kong (insider trading, 2017) SEC 2017-09-28 Insider Trading $77.3k settled
SEC v. Laurence M. Torres (churning, 2017) SEC 2017-09-28 Churning $160k settled
SEC v. Naris Chamroonrat, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2017) SEC 2017-09-28 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Sean Stewart et al. (insider trading, 2017) SEC 2017-09-28 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Success Holding Group International, Inc. (unregistered distributions, 2017) SEC 2017-09-28 Unregistered Distributions $100k settled
SEC v. Jason Napodano, Bilal Basrai and Bryce Stirton (insider trading, 2017) SEC 2017-09-26 Insider Trading $240k settled
SEC v. LBMZ Securities, Inc. (insider trading, 2017) SEC 2017-09-26 Insider Trading $240k settled
CFTC v. Nicholas Gelfman and Gelfman Blueprint (ponzi schemes, 2017) CFTC 2017-09-22 Ponzi Schemes — filed
OSC v. Patrick Jelf Caruso and others (insider trading, 2017) OSC 2017-09-22 Insider Trading — dismissed