Market Manipulation. Search

Largest crypto market manipulation cases

The largest manipulation enforcement actions in this library that touch digital assets, ranked by civil penalty. Crypto contributes a larger share of actions than of aggregate monetary relief.

Includes any action our classifier tagged with the crypto asset class, whether the technique is crypto-native or an older technique applied to a digital asset.

Amounts are as stated in the regulator's release, in nominal US dollars, and are not adjusted for inflation. Amounts ordered are not amounts collected. Actions denominated in other currencies are excluded rather than converted.

Largest crypto market manipulation cases — top 50
#ActionAgencyFiledPenaltyDisgorgementTotal relief
1 CFTC v. Company and its Principal (ponzi schemes, 2019)
Ponzi Schemes
CFTC 2019-06-18 $429m — $429m
2 CFTC v. Sam Ikkurty, Ravishankar Avadhanam and Jafia LLC (2022)
CFTC 2022-05-19 $111m $37m $148m
3 CFTC v. Sam Ikkurty (ponzi schemes, 2024)
Ponzi Schemes
CFTC 2024-09-03 $111m $37m $148m
4 SEC v. Tai Mo Shan Limited (unregistered distributions, 2024)
Unregistered Distributions
SEC 2024-12-20 $36.7m $73.5m $123m
5 SEC v. Vuuzle Media Corp., Vuuzle Media Corp. Limited, Ronald Shane Flynn, and Richard Marchitto (boiler rooms, 2023)
Boiler Rooms
SEC 2023-06-27 $25.8m $25.8m $52.3m
6 SEC v. Block.One (unregistered distributions, 2019)
Unregistered Distributions
SEC 2019-09-30 $24m — $24m
7 SEC v. Nexo Capital Inc. (unregistered distributions, 2023)
Unregistered Distributions
SEC 2023-01-19 $22.5m — $22.5m
8 CFTC v. Abner Alejandro Tinoco (ponzi schemes, 2024)
Ponzi Schemes
CFTC 2024-07-26 $18.8m $6.3m $25m
9 CFTC v. El Paso Resident and His Firm (ponzi schemes, 2021)
Ponzi Schemes
CFTC 2021-10-20 $18.8m $6.3m $25m
10 CFTC v. Adam Todd and Digitex entities (price manipulation, 2023)
Price Manipulation
CFTC 2023-07-12 $11.7m $3.9m $15.6m
11 SEC v. Justin Sun et al. (paid stock promotion, 2023)
Paid Stock Promotion , Unregistered Distributions , Wash Trading
SEC 2023-03-24 $10m — $10m
12 SEC v. Daniel F. Putnam, et al. (2020)
SEC 2020-06-05 $7.2m $7.8m $16.3m
13 SEC v. Shawn C. Cutting (2021)
SEC 2021-03-11 $6.9m $5.3m $12.3m
14 CFTC v. Coinbase Inc. (exchange wash trading, 2021)
Exchange Wash Trading , Wash Trading
CFTC 2021-03-19 $6.5m — $6.5m
15 CFTC v. Daniel Fingerhut and others (binary options and digital asset solicitation fraud, 2021)
CFTC 2021-11-17 $3.6m $3.4m $7m
16 CFTC v. Casper Mikkelsen (2020)
CFTC 2020-05-18 $3.6m — $3.6m
17 CFTC v. Kantor et al. (rigged binary options execution, 2019)
Rigged Binary Options Execution
CFTC 2018-04-16 $2.8m $1.1m $3.9m
18 CFTC v. GBI (ponzi schemes, 2018)
Ponzi Schemes
CFTC 2018-10-18 $2m — $2m
19 CFTC v. Nicholas Gelfman and Gelfman Blueprint, Inc. (ponzi schemes, 2017)
Ponzi Schemes
CFTC 2017-09-21 $2m — $2m
20 SEC v. Homero Joshua Garza, GAW Miners, LLC, and ZenMiner, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2017)
Ponzi Schemes
SEC 2017-06-05 $2m $10.4m $12.4m
21 SEC v. Homero Joshua Garza, GAW Miners and ZenMiner (ponzi schemes, 2015)
Ponzi Schemes
SEC 2015-12-01 $2m $9.2m $11.9m
22 SEC v. TradeStation Crypto, Inc. (unregistered distributions, 2024)
Unregistered Distributions
SEC 2024-02-07 $1.5m — $1.5m
23 CFTC v. Dean and The Entrepreneurs Headquarters (ponzi schemes, 2018)
Ponzi Schemes
CFTC 2018-01-18 $1.5m — $1.5m
24 CFTC v. unnamed respondents (ponzi schemes, 2021)
Ponzi Schemes
CFTC 2021-04-08 $1.5m $15.8m $17.3m
25 CFTC v. Nevada Company and its Owner (ponzi schemes, 2019)
Ponzi Schemes
CFTC 2019-10-16 $1.5m $15.8m $17.3m
26 CFTC v. Michael Griffis and Amanda Griffis (2023)
CFTC 2023-07-25 $1.4m — $1.4m
27 SEC v. The Hydrogen Technology Corporation, Michael Ross Kane, and Tyler Ostern (paid crypto market making, 2022)
Paid Crypto Market Making
SEC 2022-09-28 $1.2m $1.6m $3.1m
28 SEC v. Paul Anthony Pierce (paid stock promotion, 2023)
Paid Stock Promotion
SEC 2023-02-17 $1.2m $244k $1.4m
29 SEC v. Kimberly Kardashian (paid stock promotion, 2022)
Paid Stock Promotion
SEC 2022-10-03 $1m $250k $1.3m
30 SEC v. Quantstamp, Inc. (unregistered distributions, 2023)
Unregistered Distributions
SEC 2023-07-21 $1m $2m $3.5m
31 SEC v. Reginald Middleton and Veritaseum (price manipulation, 2019)
Price Manipulation
SEC 2019-08-12 $1m $7.9m $9.5m
32 SEC v. Stoner Cats 2, LLC (unregistered distributions, 2023)
Unregistered Distributions
SEC 2023-09-13 $1m — $1m
33 SEC v. Flyfish Club, LLC (unregistered distributions, 2024)
Unregistered Distributions
SEC 2024-09-16 $750k — $750k
34 SEC v. Sparkster, Ltd. and Sajjad Daya (unregistered distributions, 2022)
Unregistered Distributions
SEC 2022-09-19 $750k $30m $35.4m
35 SEC v. Impact Theory, LLC (unregistered distributions, 2023)
Unregistered Distributions
SEC 2023-08-28 $500k $5.1m $6.1m
36 CFTC v. unnamed respondents (ponzi schemes, 2020)
Ponzi Schemes
CFTC 2020-11-04 $450k — $450k
37 CFTC v. Colorado Resident (ponzi schemes, 2020)
Ponzi Schemes
CFTC 2020-02-14 $450k — $450k
38 SEC v. Edgar M. Radjabli, Apis Capital Management LLC and My Loan Doctor LLC (sham tender offers, 2021)
Sham Tender Offers
SEC 2021-06-11 $419k $163k $600k
39 SEC v. BitClave PTE Ltd. (unregistered distributions, 2020)
Unregistered Distributions
SEC 2020-05-28 $400k $25.5m $29.3m
40 SEC v. Investview, Inc. (unregistered distributions, 2025)
Unregistered Distributions
SEC 2025-01-17 $375k — $375k
41 SEC v. Gannon Giguiere (insider trading, 2024)
Insider Trading
SEC 2024-01-03 $325k — $325k
42 SEC v. M Holdings Securities, Inc. (customer information safeguards, 2025)
SEC 2025-11-25 $325k — $325k
43 SEC v. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC and four affiliates (customer information safeguards, 2021)
SEC 2021-08-30 $300k — $300k
44 SEC v. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (paid stock promotion, 2018)
Paid Stock Promotion
SEC 2018-11-29 $300k $300k $600k
45 SEC v. Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. and Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc. (customer information safeguards, 2021)
SEC 2021-08-30 $250k — $250k
46 SEC v. Tyler Ward and Troy Murray (unregistered distributions, 2023)
Unregistered Distributions
SEC 2023-12-22 $250k — $250k
47 SEC v. KMS Financial Services, Inc. (customer information safeguards, 2021)
SEC 2021-08-30 $200k — $200k
48 SEC v. Thomas J. Gity, et al. (2020)
SEC 2020-09-30 $193k $4.7m $5.1m
49 SEC v. ICO Rating (paid stock promotion, 2019)
Paid Stock Promotion
SEC 2019-08-20 $162k $101k $269k
50 SEC v. Steven Seagal (paid stock promotion, 2020)
Paid Stock Promotion
SEC 2020-02-27 $157k $157k $314k

Other rankings: largest penalties · largest spoofing penalties · longest sentences · most-charged individuals · biggest crypto cases · most active courts