ASIC v. Benjamin Heath Cooper (price manipulation, 2021)

Judgment entered

✓ Checked against the primary document on October 4, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.

Report an error in this record (asic-benjamin-heath-cooper-price-manipulation-2021) by email

In March 2021 ASIC reported that Benjamin Heath Cooper was charged with conspiring to manipulate the market for Quantum Resources shares. He pleaded guilty in June 2022 and on 9 December 2022 the Supreme Court of Western Australia sentenced him to 15 months' imprisonment, released immediately on conditions.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

—

Disgorgement

—

Prejudgment interest

—

Total relief

—

Alleged gain

—

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

the Australian Securities and Investments Commission announced this matter on March 17, 2021 as release 21-050MR. The respondents named are Benjamin Heath Cooper (1 individual, 0 entities).

This library tags the matter as price manipulation, based on the conduct the regulator describes. Each tag links to a page explaining how that technique works, what statute it engages, and what penalties comparable actions have attracted. The tagging is ours, not the regulator's: agencies charge statutory provisions, not technique names.

The conduct is recorded against equities.

The release references a parallel criminal proceeding. Where a criminal case exists, the civil and criminal outcomes are recorded separately, because they resolve on different standards of proof.

Outcome. ASIC's release 22-354MR says Cooper pleaded guilty and on 9 December 2022 was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Western Australia to 15 months' imprisonment, to be released immediately after paying A$6,000 and promising good behaviour for two years. The court's findings, as reported by ASIC, are that he conspired with Avrohom Kimelman and Don Evans to push Quantum shares to a pre-determined price on 16 November 2015, executing trades through two accounts. ASIC adds that the conviction disqualifies him from managing corporations for five years.

What the sources do not show: the A$6,000 is described as a payment on release, not as a fine, so no penalty amount is recorded. The sources here are ASIC's release and the editor's notes on the original charge release, not the court's reasons.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Price manipulation — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2021-03-17 ASIC media release
2. 2022-12-09 Cooper sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment, released on conditions (ASIC 22-354MR)

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• ASIC media release
• ASIC release 22-354MR (sentence)

The linked release is published by the issuing regulator under its own terms. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Same matter

The library links these 2 records because they appear to concern one matter: the same lead defendant, an overlapping technique tag and close filing dates, or a shared court docket or a release that cites the other. Records are listed by date filed.

This grouping is the library's, made by matching names, techniques, dates and citations when the site is built. It is not the regulator's or a court's determination that the records are one case, and it errs towards missing a link rather than making a false one.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.