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
OSC v. Michael Paul Kraft and Michael Brian Stein (insider trading, 2021) OSC 2021-11-16 Insider Trading — dismissed
SEC v. Gerald Fauth (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-11-10 Insider Trading — unknown
Former Quantum Resources director convicted of insider trading and market manipulation offences (ASIC, 2021) ASIC 2021-11-09 Insider Trading , Price Manipulation — filed
SEC v. Gregory Lemelson, Lemelson Capital Management, LLC, and The Amvona Fund (short and distort, 2021) SEC 2021-11-08 Short And Distort — filed
SEC v. David P. Godwin, et al. (wash trading, 2021) SEC 2021-11-04 Wash Trading — judgment
SEC v. Mark A. Miller, Saeid Jaberian and Christopher J. Rajkaran (pump and dump, 2021) SEC 2021-11-01 Pump And Dump — filed
SEC v. BNZ One Capital, LLC, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-10-29 Ponzi Schemes — filed
CFTC v. New Jersey Resident and His Company (ponzi schemes, 2021) CFTC 2021-10-27 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Ann M. Vick (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-10-26 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Denis Georgiyevich Sotnikov, et al. (spoofing, 2021) SEC 2021-10-26 Spoofing $2.5m judgment
SEC v. Steven M. Gallagher, a/k/a "Alexander Delarge" (social media ramps, 2021) SEC 2021-10-26 Social Media Ramps — filed
CFTC v. El Paso Resident and His Firm (ponzi schemes, 2021) CFTC 2021-10-20 Ponzi Schemes — filed
CFTC v. Craig L. Clavin (ponzi schemes, 2021) CFTC 2021-10-12 Ponzi Schemes $370k judgment
CFTC v. North Carolina Companies and Their Owners (ponzi schemes, 2021) CFTC 2021-10-08 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Steven Pagartanis (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-10-07 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Keith A. Wakefield (wash trading, 2021) SEC 2021-10-01 Wash Trading — settled
SEC v. Adam Heimann (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-09-30 Paid Stock Promotion $488k settled
SEC v. Gregory L. Ciccone, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-09-29 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Sky Group, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-09-29 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Jaeson Birnbaum (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-09-28 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Tradition Securities and Derivatives, LLC (naked short selling debate, 2021) SEC 2021-09-28 Naked Short Selling Debate $842k settled
FCA v. Colin Bermingham Individual (benchmark submission rigging, 2021) FCA 2021-09-27 Benchmark Submission Rigging , Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Suyun Gu, et al. (wash trading, 2021) SEC 2021-09-27 Wash Trading — judgment
SEC v. Timothy Page et al., Daniel Cattlin and William R. Shupe (boiler rooms, 2021) SEC 2021-09-27 Boiler Rooms — filed
SEC v. Xuepeng Xie (layering, 2021) SEC 2021-09-27 Layering , Spoofing $600k settled
SEC v. Frantz Simeon and First Black Enterprises, Inc. (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-09-23 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
ASIC v. Dylan Rands (price manipulation, 2021) ASIC 2021-09-22 Price Manipulation — unknown
SEC v. James Wallace Nall, III, Michael Hale Smith, Michael Dwaine Smith, Robert Walter Smith and Walter Vice Tutt (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-09-21 Insider Trading $221k judgment
SEC v. Helikon Investments Ltd. (rule 105 offering shorts, 2021) SEC 2021-09-21 Rule 105 Offering Shorts $97.5k settled
CFTC v. Former Hawaii Resident (ponzi schemes, 2021) CFTC 2021-09-16 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Jason Dodd Bullard, Angela Romero-Bullard, and Bullard Enterprises LLC (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-09-16 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
CFTC v. Ronald Montano (wash trading, 2021) CFTC 2021-09-15 Wash Trading $1.7m judgment
SEC v. Charles Parkinson Lloyd (reverse merger schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-09-15 Reverse Merger Schemes , Unregistered Distributions $40k settled
SEC v. Simon Piers Thurlow, et al. (reverse merger schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-09-15 Reverse Merger Schemes — settled
Melbourne man charged with insider trading (ASIC, 2021) ASIC 2021-09-14 Insider Trading — filed
CFTC v. Texas Resident and others (ponzi schemes, 2021) CFTC 2021-09-14 Ponzi Schemes , Wash Trading — filed
SEC v. App Annie Inc. and Bertrand Schmitt (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-09-14 Insider Trading $10m settled
SEC v. Mark Ahn (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-09-10 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Todd Elliott Hitt et al. (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-09-10 Ponzi Schemes — dismissed
SEC v. Cavco Industries, Inc., Joseph Stegmayer, and Daniel Urness, Robert Scott Parkhurst (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-09-03 Insider Trading $1.5m judgment
SEC v. Alexander Kon (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-09-01 Paid Stock Promotion — unknown
SEC v. Zeeshawn S. Zia (boiler rooms, 2021) SEC 2021-09-01 Boiler Rooms — filed
SEC v. Steven Fitzgerald Brown (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-08-31 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Beth Mueller (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-08-30 Insider Trading $28k settled
SEC v. Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. and Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc. (spoofing, 2021) SEC 2021-08-30 Spoofing — settled
SEC v. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC (spoofing, 2021) SEC 2021-08-30 Spoofing — settled
SEC v. Donald G. Blakstad, et al. (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-08-30 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. KMS Financial Services, Inc. (spoofing, 2021) SEC 2021-08-30 Spoofing $200k settled
SEC v. Roger E. Dobrovodsky (unregistered distributions, 2021) SEC 2021-08-30 Unregistered Distributions $50k settled
SEC v. Scott and Lisa Chasin (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-08-30 Insider Trading $28k settled
CFTC v. Glen Galemmo (ponzi schemes, 2021) CFTC 2021-08-27 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. William B. McHenry Jr. and First South Investments, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-08-27 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Andrew L. Fassari (social media ramps, 2021) SEC 2021-08-27 Social Media Ramps $195k judgment
SEC v. John J. Woods, Livingston Group Asset Management Company d/b/a Southport Capital, and Horizon Private Equity, III, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-08-25 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Sung Mo Jun, Joon Jun, Junwoo Chon, Ayden Lee, and Jae Hyeon Bae (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-08-25 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Denise Grevas (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-08-18 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Matthew Panuwat (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-08-17 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Murchinson Ltd. and Marc Bistricer and Paul Zogala (naked short selling debate, 2021) SEC 2021-08-17 Naked Short Selling Debate $800k settled
SEC v. Lawrence B. Adams (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-08-16 Paid Stock Promotion — filed
SEC v. Ahmad Haris Tajyar and Eric Leo Marsoubian (marking the close, 2021) SEC 2021-08-13 Marking The Close , Matched Orders +1 $220k settled
SEC v. Martin Adrian Ruiz et al. (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-08-13 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. MJ Capital Funding, LLC, et al, (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-08-13 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Zorayr Mikael Manukyan-Zakaryan (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-08-10 Insider Trading $41k settled
SEC v. Leonard R. Barr (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-08-09 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Virland A. Johnson (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-08-03 Paid Stock Promotion — filed
SEC v. George Heckler (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-07-28 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Alan L. Alexander (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-07-23 Insider Trading $9.1k settled
SEC v. Charlie Abujudeh (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-07-22 Paid Stock Promotion , Pump And Dump — unknown
SEC v. Outdoor Capital Partners, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-07-22 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
OSC v. Jiubin Feng and CIM International Group Inc. (ponzi schemes, 2021) OSC 2021-07-21 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Profit Connect Wealth Services, Inc., Joy I. Kovar, and Brent C. Kovar (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-07-20 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Blotics Ltd. f/d/b/a Coinschedule Ltd. (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-07-14 Paid Stock Promotion $154k settled
SEC v. Jonathan Mimun a/k/a Jonathan Maymon and Ronn BenHarav (boiler rooms, 2021) SEC 2021-07-13 Boiler Rooms — unknown
Melbourne man charged with multiple counts of market manipulation (ASIC, 2021) ASIC 2021-07-02 Price Manipulation — filed
ASIC v. Avrohom Kimelman (insider trading, 2021) ASIC 2021-07-01 Insider Trading , Price Manipulation — unknown
SEC v. Contrarian Press, LLC, Scott S. Fraser, and Nathan Yeung (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-07-01 Paid Stock Promotion — dismissed
SEC v. Mounir N. Gad (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-06-30 Insider Trading $51.7k settled
SEC v. Nathan E. Guido (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-06-30 Insider Trading $40.7k settled
SEC v. Reuben Robert Goldman and Two Triangle Consulting Group, LLC d/b/a Goldman Small Cap Research (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-06-30 Paid Stock Promotion $39.9k settled
SEC v. Ron Phillips (matched orders, 2021) SEC 2021-06-30 Matched Orders $30k judgment
SEC v. Matthew J. Skinner, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-06-29 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Nathaniel Brown, Benjamin Wylam, Naveen Sood, Marcus Bannon, Matthew Rauch, and Naresh Ramaiya (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-06-25 Insider Trading $281k judgment
SEC v. Wang (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-06-25 Insider Trading $50k judgment
SEC v. Mark A. Miller (fake press releases, 2021) SEC 2021-06-21 Fake Press Releases , Pump And Dump — unknown
CFTC v. Former Energy Broker and Its Owner (wash trading, 2021) CFTC 2021-06-15 Wash Trading — judgment
SEC v. Robert Joseph Armijo, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-06-15 Ponzi Schemes — filed
CFTC v. Zhao (spoofing, 2021) CFTC 2021-06-11 Spoofing — settled
SEC v. Edgar M. Radjabli, Apis Capital Management LLC and My Loan Doctor LLC (sham tender offers, 2021) SEC 2021-06-11 Sham Tender Offers $419k settled
SEC v. The Estate of Kenneth J. Casey (ponzi schemes, 2021) SEC 2021-06-02 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Mohammed A. Bari (insider trading, 2021) SEC 2021-05-27 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Kai Christian Petersen, et al. (boiler rooms, 2021) SEC 2021-05-25 Boiler Rooms $100k judgment
Former executive of Healthe Care Australia pleads guilty to insider trading (ASIC, 2021) ASIC 2021-05-21 Insider Trading — dismissed
Insider trading charges against both the former Project Manager and the former Competent Person of ASX-listed gold explorer (ASIC, 2021) ASIC 2021-05-21 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. BTIG, LLC (naked short selling debate, 2021) SEC 2021-05-20 Naked Short Selling Debate — filed
SEC v. LFS Funding Limited Partnership, et al. (undisclosed control blocks, 2021) SEC 2021-05-20 Undisclosed Control Blocks — settled
Former CFO sentenced for market manipulation and fraud offences (ASIC, 2021) ASIC 2021-05-18 Price Manipulation — filed
CFTC v. Connecticut Firm (matched orders, 2021) CFTC 2021-05-18 Matched Orders , Wash Trading $500k judgment
CFTC v. Cipolla (ponzi schemes, 2021) CFTC 2021-05-14 Ponzi Schemes $5m judgment
SEC v. David N. Osegueda, et al. (pump and dump, 2021) SEC 2021-05-07 Pump And Dump $400k judgment
CFTC v. Aaron Michael Scott (ponzi schemes, 2021) CFTC 2021-04-27 Ponzi Schemes $1.3m judgment