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. Raymond J. Pirrello, Jr., et al. (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-12-07 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Marc E. Wexler (price manipulation, 2023) SEC 2023-12-05 Price Manipulation , Pump And Dump — judgment
ASIC v. Henry Eng Chye Heng (price manipulation, 2023) ASIC 2023-12-04 Price Manipulation — filed
SEC v. Andrew DeFrancesco, Marlio Mauricio Diaz Cardona, Carlos Felipe Rezk, Nicola Faukovic, and Catherine DeFrancesco (pump and dump, 2023) SEC 2023-11-29 Pump And Dump $223k judgment
SEC v. Joseph M. Dupont et al. (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-11-28 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. unnamed respondents (unregistered distributions, 2023) SEC 2023-11-21 Unregistered Distributions — filed
SEC v. Laidlaw and Company (UK) Ltd. (churning, 2023) SEC 2023-11-20 Churning $223k settled
CFTC v. Chicago-based Phillip Galles (ponzi schemes, 2023) CFTC 2023-11-15 Ponzi Schemes $20m judgment
SEC v. Matthew Melton (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-11-15 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Charter Communications, Inc. (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-11-14 Insider Trading $25m settled
SEC v. John A. Masanotti, Jr. and Middlesex Mortgage Group, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-11-09 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. SafeMoon LLC, SafeMoon US LLC, Kyle Nagy, Braden John Karony, Thomas Glenn Smith (wash trading, 2023) SEC 2023-11-01 Wash Trading — filed
SEC v. Joseph Conlan (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-10-30 Insider Trading $73.6k settled
SEC v. Bruce Schoengood, Medifirst Solutions, Inc., and Joshua Tyrell (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-10-27 Paid Stock Promotion — judgment
OSC v. Thomas John Finch (insider trading, 2023) OSC 2023-10-25 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. BlackRock Advisors, LLC (benchmark submission rigging, 2023) SEC 2023-10-24 Benchmark Submission Rigging $2.5m settled
CFTC v. Minnesota Grain Merchandiser (price manipulation, 2023) CFTC 2023-10-23 Price Manipulation $3m judgment
OSC v. Charles DeBono (ponzi schemes, 2023) OSC 2023-10-23 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Anson Advisors Inc. (rule 105 offering shorts, 2023) SEC 2023-10-19 Rule 105 Offering Shorts $600k settled
SEC v. Brian Marc Rubin (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-10-17 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Matthew M. Motil, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-10-04 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Zera Financial LLC (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-10-03 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Bin Hao and Qidian LLC (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-09-29 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. John Feloni and Stock Squirrel, Inc. (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-09-29 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Maxim Group, LLC (naked short selling debate, 2023) SEC 2023-09-29 Naked Short Selling Debate $800k settled
CFTC v. unnamed respondents (ponzi schemes, 2023) CFTC 2023-09-28 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
CFTC v. Unregistered Pool Operator and its Owner (ponzi schemes, 2023) CFTC 2023-09-28 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Anthony Viggiano, Stephen A. Forlano, Christopher Salamone, and Nathan Bleckley (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-09-28 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. Marco A Perez, Pedro Perez Jr., and Olivia Perez Durbin (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-09-28 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Michael Blumer, John Kuprianchik, David Page, Steven Thompson, Joseph Todaro (churning, 2023) SEC 2023-09-28 Churning — unknown
CFTC v. Dichao Xie (insider trading, 2023) CFTC 2023-09-27 Insider Trading $350k judgment
SEC v. Robert Del Prete (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-09-27 Insider Trading — judgment
CFTC v. Florida Man (ponzi schemes, 2023) CFTC 2023-09-26 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Philip Verges, James D. Tilton, Jr., Robert F. Malin, Linda Malin, and others (pump and dump, 2023) SEC 2023-09-26 Pump And Dump — unknown
SEC v. William B. McHenry, Jr. and First South Investments, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-09-26 Ponzi Schemes , Unregistered Distributions — judgment
SEC v. Stephen L. Bailey, Sapphire Exploration LLC, and Harris Exploration Inc. (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-09-25 Ponzi Schemes — filed
CFTC v. California Resident (wash trading, 2023) CFTC 2023-09-22 Wash Trading $300k judgment
SEC v. Citadel Securities, LLC (naked short selling debate, 2023) SEC 2023-09-22 Naked Short Selling Debate $7m settled
SEC v. Empirex Capital LLC and Rafael Alberto Vargas Gonzalez, a/k/a Rafael Vargas (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-09-22 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Nathalia I. Burgos, Christian A. Cuesta, Steven A. Fernandez et. al. (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-09-22 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Jon P. Kubler, Kubler Consulting LLC, Aksarben Evolution LLC, AV Bhill LLC, CFH Texas LLC, Green Saddle LLC (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-09-21 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Jonathan Becker (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-09-21 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Luis Ricardo Quiroz Gardea (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-09-21 Ponzi Schemes — settled
ASIC v. Interactive Brokers (marking the close, 2023) ASIC 2023-09-20 Marking The Close $833k unknown
SEC v. MFB 111 Investment, LLC and Monise François Bien Aimé (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-09-19 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Tilila Walker Sumchai (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-09-19 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. GGToor, Inc. (unregistered distributions, 2023) SEC 2023-09-18 Unregistered Distributions $40k settled
SEC v. Jonathan J. Ferrie (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-09-18 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Lyft, Inc. (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-09-18 Insider Trading $10m settled
SEC v. Xia Hong (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-09-14 Insider Trading $75k settled
SEC v. Rand Heckler (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-09-13 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Stoner Cats 2, LLC (unregistered distributions, 2023) SEC 2023-09-13 Unregistered Distributions $1m settled
SEC v. Esos Rings, Inc. and Michelle Silverstein aka Michelle Silverstein Bisnoff (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-09-12 Ponzi Schemes $233k judgment
SEC v. George Stubos (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-09-12 Paid Stock Promotion — judgment
SEC v. Virtu Financial Inc. and Virtu Americas LLC (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-09-12 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Mortgage Industry Advisory Corporation (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-09-11 Insider Trading $100k settled
SEC v. Simplex Trading, LLC (naked short selling debate, 2023) SEC 2023-09-11 Naked Short Selling Debate $200k settled
SEC v. Mina Tadrus, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-09-08 Ponzi Schemes — filed
CFTC v. Texas Firm and Head Trader (spoofing, 2023) CFTC 2023-09-07 Spoofing — filed
SEC v. Linus Financial, Inc. (unregistered distributions, 2023) SEC 2023-09-07 Unregistered Distributions — settled
OSC v. Derek Scheinman (ponzi schemes, 2023) OSC 2023-09-06 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Jeremy Koski (social media ramps, 2023) SEC 2023-09-01 Social Media Ramps — filed
SEC v. Brady Jack Speers, Chatree Thiranon, and GHAP, LLC d/b/a Blue Star Texas (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-08-31 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. William V. Conn, Jr. (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-08-31 Ponzi Schemes — filed
FCA v. NMC Health Plc (in Administration) (price manipulation, 2023) FCA 2023-08-30 Price Manipulation — unknown
SEC v. Archipelago Trading Services, Inc. (layering, 2023) SEC 2023-08-29 Layering , Spoofing +1 $1.5m settled
SEC v. Deyonte Jahtori Anthony (free riding and parking, 2023) SEC 2023-08-28 Free Riding And Parking — settled
SEC v. Impact Theory, LLC (unregistered distributions, 2023) SEC 2023-08-28 Unregistered Distributions $500k settled
OSC v. Nova Tech Ltd. and Cynthia Petion (ponzi schemes, 2023) OSC 2023-08-25 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
Melbourne man charged over alleged insider trading in Kidman Resources shares (ASIC, 2023) ASIC 2023-08-24 Insider Trading $65k filed
SEC v. Romero Cabral da Costa Neto (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-08-24 Insider Trading — unknown
CFTC v. Texas Man and His Company (ponzi schemes, 2023) CFTC 2023-08-23 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Daniel V.T. Catenacci (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-08-21 Insider Trading $50k judgment
SEC v. Carla Lea Chastain (churning, 2023) SEC 2023-08-18 Churning — settled
SEC v. Chad Stickforth (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-08-08 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Charles Rustin Holzer, Maglione International Ltd., Frontenac Investments Ltd. (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-08-07 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Justin Sun, Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd., Rainberry, Inc., Austin Mahone, and Deandre Cortez Way (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-08-07 Paid Stock Promotion , Wash Trading — judgment
SEC v. Jose D. Rocha (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-08-03 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Janardhan Nellore, et al. (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-08-02 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Mina Tadrus and Tadrus Capital LLC (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-08-02 Ponzi Schemes — filed
CFTC v. UK Trader (spoofing, 2023) CFTC 2023-08-01 Spoofing $150k judgment
SEC v. Brent Seaman, Accanito Holdings, LLC, and others (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-07-28 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Joseph C. Lewis, et al. (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-07-26 Insider Trading — filed
CFTC v. Tennessee Husband and Wife Realtors (ponzi schemes, 2023) CFTC 2023-07-25 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Amit Dagar and Atul Bhiwapurkar (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-07-25 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. Brandon Charnas (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-07-25 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. Quantstamp, Inc. (unregistered distributions, 2023) SEC 2023-07-21 Unregistered Distributions $1m settled
SEC v. Eric J. "EJ" Dalius et al. (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-07-20 Ponzi Schemes $112k judgment
SEC v. Robert D. Christensen, Anthony M. Matic, Foresee, Inc., The Commission PDX, LLC, The Policy PDX, Innings 150 (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-07-20 Ponzi Schemes $200k judgment
SEC v. Chadd L. Evans (free riding and parking, 2023) SEC 2023-07-19 Free Riding And Parking $10k judgment
SEC v. James P. Anglim (boiler rooms, 2023) SEC 2023-07-17 Boiler Rooms — judgment
SEC v. Nirdosh Jagota, Ph.D. (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-07-17 Insider Trading $39.7k settled
SEC v. Joseph Michael Todd, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-07-13 Ponzi Schemes — settled
CFTC v. Florida (price manipulation, 2023) CFTC 2023-07-12 Price Manipulation $11.7m judgment
SEC v. Nayeem Choudhury and Dream Venture Capital Group, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-07-12 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Costello et al. (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-07-11 Paid Stock Promotion — judgment
SEC v. Legend Venture Partners LLC (boiler rooms, 2023) SEC 2023-07-11 Boiler Rooms — filed
SEC v. Andrew DeFrancesco, Marlio Mauricio Diaz Cardona, Carlos Felipe Rezk, Nikola Faukovic, and Catherine DeFrancesco (pump and dump, 2023) SEC 2023-07-07 Pump And Dump — judgment
CFTC v. Unregistered Michigan Commodity Pool Operator and its President (ponzi schemes, 2023) CFTC 2023-07-06 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
ASIC v. Openmarkets (wash trading, 2023) ASIC 2023-07-05 Wash Trading — unknown