Fake press releases enforcement actions

This library records 21 enforcement actions tagged fake press releases. A fake press release is a fabricated corporate announcement issued through a wire service or a lookalike site, designed to move a share price for the few minutes before the company can deny it.

Actions are listed newest first. Each row links to a case page carrying the regulator's own release and, where one was published, the complaint. For how this technique works and what statute it engages, read the fake press releases technique page.

Actions: 21
Total penalties: $7.7m
Median penalty: $150k
Largest: $6.5m
Criminal parallel: 24%

Action	Agency	Filed	Penalty	Status
SEBI v. Kalahridhaan Trendz Limited and others (false corporate announcements, 2026)	SEBI (India)	2026-07-30	—	judgment
SEC v. Muhammad Saad Shoukat and others (fake press releases, 2026)	SEC	2026-01-06	—	filed
SEC v. Jeremy Koski (fake press releases, 2023)	SEC	2023-09-01	$100k	settled
SEC v. In Ovations Holdings, Inc. and Mark Goldberg (fake press releases, 2022)	SEC	2022-12-09	—	judgment
SEC v. Michael J. Starkweather and Andiamo Corporation (fake press releases, 2021)	SEC	2021-12-03	—	judgment
SEC v. Mark A. Miller (fake press releases, 2021)	SEC	2021-06-21	—	judgment
SEC v. Turbo Global Partners, Inc. and Robert W. Singerman (fake press releases, 2020)	SEC	2020-05-14	—	settled
AMF France v. Bloomberg LP (false information from a fake press release, 2019)	AMF (France)	2019-12-11	—	judgment
SEC v. Michael J. Starkweather and Andiamo Corporation, William White (matched orders, 2019)	SEC	2019-10-17	$150k	settled
SEC v. Brian Weber and Bebida Beverage Co. (fake press releases, 2018)	SEC	2018-10-31	$160k	judgment
SEC v. John Madsen, Andalusian Resorts and Spas, Inc. and Bernard Fried (fake press releases, 2018)	SEC	2018-10-23	$80k	judgment
SEC v. In Ovations Holdings, Inc. and Mark Goldberg (fake press releases, 2018)	SEC	2018-09-06	$150k	judgment
SEC v. Andy Z. Fan (fake press releases, 2018)	SEC	2018-04-25	$140k	settled
SEC v. Wellness Center USA, Inc. (fake press releases, 2018)	SEC	2018-04-12	—	settled
SEC v. Andalusian Resorts and Spas, Inc., John Madsen and Bernard Fried (fake press releases, 2017)	SEC	2017-10-30	$80k	judgment
SEC v. Raymond H. Barton (fake press releases, 2017)	SEC	2017-02-09	—	judgment
SEC v. Randy A. Hamdan and Oracle Consultants, LLC (fake press releases, 2016)	SEC	2016-02-17	$150k	judgment
SEC v. Frank Morelli III and Louis Buonocore (undisclosed control blocks, 2015)	SEC	2015-09-21	—	settled
SEC v. George Ivakhnik and The Mobile Star Corporation (fake press releases, 2015)	SEC	2015-09-17	$150k	settled
SEC v. 8000, Inc., Jonathan E. Bryant, Thomas J. Kelly, and Carl N. Duncan, Esq. (fake press releases, 2015)	SEC	2015-09-16	$6.5m	judgment
SEC v. Joseph P. Doxey and William J. Daniels (fake press releases, 2014)	SEC	2014-05-15	—	judgment