Home / Cases / Paid stock promotion Paid stock promotion enforcement actions This library records 129 enforcement actions tagged paid stock promotion. Paid stock promotion is publicising a security in exchange for compensation, which is lawful only if the fact of payment, the payer and the amount are fully disclosed under Securities Act Section 17(b).
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 paid stock promotion technique page.
Actions 100
Total penalties $23.6m
Median penalty $150k
Largest $10m
Criminal parallel 27% Action Agency Filed Penalty Status SEC v. Brian Keasberry (paid stock promotion, 2026) SEC 2026-08-21 $37.5k judgment SEC v. Justin Sun, Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd., Rainberry, Inc., and DeAndre Cortez Way (paid stock promotion, 2026) SEC 2026-03-05 $10m judgment SEC v. Medallion Financial Corp., Andrew Murstein, Lawrence Meyers, and Ichabod’s Cranium, Inc. (paid stock promotion, 2025) SEC 2025-06-06 $3m judgment SEC v. John S. Clayton and others (insider trading, 2024) SEC 2024-12-11 — filed SEC v. Marco Babini, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2024) SEC 2024-09-27 — judgment SEC v. Meta Materials, Inc. ( and others (engineered short squeeze, 2024) SEC 2024-06-25 $1m settled SEC v. Giguiere et al. (paid stock promotion, 2024) SEC 2024-06-13 $875k judgment SEC v. Ian Balina (paid stock promotion, 2024) SEC 2024-05-23 — filed SEC v. Ahmed Alomari and MCM Consulting (paid stock promotion, 2024) SEC 2024-05-03 — filed SEC v. George Stubos, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2024) SEC 2024-04-15 — judgment SEC v. Matthew Nicosia, William Reininger, Fabrizio Di Carlo, and Ronald Touchard (paid stock promotion, 2024) SEC 2024-03-28 $100k judgment SEC v. Christian Fernandez (paid stock promotion, 2024) SEC 2024-02-20 — settled SEC v. J. Jeremy Barbera, et. al. (paid stock promotion, 2024) SEC 2024-01-18 $100k judgment SEC v. Jonathan Farber, Aarif Jamani, Brian Keasberry (paid stock promotion, 2024) SEC 2024-01-16 — filed SEC v. Carnovale, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2024) SEC 2024-01-03 — judgment SEC v. Bruce Schoengood, Medifirst Solutions, Inc., and Joshua Tyrell (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-10-27 — judgment SEC v. George Stubos (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-09-12 — 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 — judgment SEC v. Costello et al. (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-07-11 — judgment SEC v. Eleazar Kauderer, GPL Ventures LLC, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-05-24 — judgment SEC v. Thomas Carter Ronk (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-05-22 — judgment SEC v. Carnovale, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-03-31 — judgment SEC v. Justin Sun et al. (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-03-24 — settled SEC v. Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-03-22 $126k settled SEC v. Jake Joseph Paul (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-03-22 $75.1k settled SEC v. Lindsay Dee Lohan (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-03-22 $30k settled SEC v. Michele Anne Mason (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-03-22 $2.9k settled SEC v. Miles Parks McCollum (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-03-22 $30k settled SEC v. Shaffer Chimere Smith (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-03-22 $36k settled SEC v. Moynes, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-03-09 — judgment SEC v. Paul Anthony Pierce (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-02-17 $1.2m settled SEC v. Charlie Abujudeh (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-01-23 $414k judgment SEC v. In Ovations Holdings, Inc. and Mark Goldberg (fake press releases, 2022) SEC 2022-12-09 — judgment SEC v. Kimberly Kardashian (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-10-03 $1m settled SEC v. Jonathan William Mikula, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-09-30 $777k settled SEC v. Bruce Schoengood, Medifirst Solutions, Inc., and Joshua Tyrell (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-07-18 — judgment SEC v. Moynes, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-06-27 — filed SEC v. Stubos, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-06-08 — filed SEC v. Dean Shah et al. (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-04-15 — filed SEC v. Global Wholehealth Partners Corp., Charles Strongo, Brian M. Volmer, Joshua Yafa, Jamie M. Yafa, and Empire Associates, Inc. (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-02-17 — filed SEC v. Michael J. Starkweather and Andiamo Corporation (fake press releases, 2021) SEC 2021-12-03 — judgment SEC v. Carnovale, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-12-02 — filed SEC v. Adam Heimann (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-09-30 $488k settled SEC v. Alexander Kon (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-09-01 — unknown SEC v. Lawrence B. Adams (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-08-16 — filed SEC v. Virland A. Johnson (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-08-03 — filed SEC v. Charlie Abujudeh (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-07-22 — unknown SEC v. Blotics Ltd. f/d/b/a Coinschedule Ltd. (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-07-14 $154k settled SEC v. Contrarian Press, LLC, Scott S. Fraser, and Nathan Yeung (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-07-01 — dismissed 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 $39.9k settled SEC v. Bruce Schoengood, Medifirst Solutions, Inc. and Joshua Tyrell (paid stock promotion, 2021) SEC 2021-02-24 — filed SEC v. Anthony Thompson, Jr., et al. (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-12-30 — judgment SEC v. J. Jeremy Barbera, Carl Smith, and Nanobeak Biotech Inc. (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-12-09 — judgment SEC v. McAfee et al. (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-10-06 — filed SEC v. Joel Stohlman, et al. (matched orders, 2020) SEC 2020-09-30 — filed OSC v. Dino Paolucci (paid stock promotion, 2020) OSC 2020-08-05 — unknown SEC v. IRTH Communications, LLC and Andrew Haag (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-07-22 $35k settled SEC v. Shawn Severson (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-02-28 $3.5k settled SEC v. Steven Seagal (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-02-27 $157k settled SEC v. David Aubel and Robert Raffa (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-01-27 $150k judgment SEC v. Lidingo Holdings, LLC, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-01-14 — judgment SEC v. Jeffrey O. Friedland, Global Corporate Strategies LLC., and Intiva Pharma, LLC (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-12-09 $2m judgment SEC v. Michael J. Starkweather and Andiamo Corporation, William White (matched orders, 2019) SEC 2019-10-17 — filed SEC v. George Matin (matched orders, 2019) SEC 2019-09-25 — settled SEC v. Harold Minsky (matched orders, 2019) SEC 2019-09-25 — settled SEC v. Brian Robert Sodi, et al. (newsletter scalping, 2019) SEC 2019-09-19 — settled SEC v. Morrie Tobin et al. (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-08-30 — filed SEC v. ICO Rating (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-08-20 — settled SEC v. Samuel Brown, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-08-16 — judgment SEC v. Wilson-Davis & Co., Inc. (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-05-15 $300k settled SEC v. Edward Withrow, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-02-05 — filed SEC v. Anthony J. Thompson, Jr., et al. (paid stock promotion, 2019) SEC 2019-02-01 — settled SEC v. Eric T. Landis et al. (matched orders, 2018) SEC 2018-11-29 — filed SEC v. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-11-29 $300k settled SEC v. Khaled Khaled (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-11-29 $100k settled SEC v. Morrie Tobin et al. (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-11-28 — filed SEC v. SeeThruEquity, LLC et al. (newsletter scalping, 2018) SEC 2018-11-08 — filed SEC v. Mark E. Fisher and Joseph F. Capuozzo (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-10-22 — settled SEC v. Jehu Hand and Antonio Katz (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-09-28 — judgment SEC v. Thomas Carter Ronk (boiler rooms, 2018) SEC 2018-09-28 — filed SEC v. CSIR Group, LLC, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-09-20 — judgment SEC v. In Ovations Holdings, Inc. and Mark Goldberg (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-09-06 — unknown SEC v. Gannon Giguiere et al. (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-07-16 — filed SEC v. Kon and Alexander (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-05-29 $20k settled SEC v. Eddy U. Marin and Shane R. Spierdowis (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-05-02 — settled SEC v. Christopher R. Esposito, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-04-30 — judgment SEC v. Aegis Capital Corporation (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-03-28 — filed SEC v. Terracciano and Eugene (paid stock promotion, 2018) SEC 2018-03-28 — unknown SEC v. Palladino and James M. (paid stock promotion, 2017) SEC 2017-11-29 — unknown SEC v. Micheal A. Skerry (newsletter scalping, 2017) SEC 2017-09-29 $100k judgment SEC v. Joe Yiu Cheung ( and Dylon De Lu Zhang) (paid stock promotion, 2017) SEC 2017-08-02 $150k settled SEC v. Jeffrey D. Martin, et al. (custodianship shell hijacking, 2017) SEC 2017-08-01 — judgment SEC v. Karen F. Aalders (paid stock promotion, 2017) SEC 2017-07-31 — judgment SEC v. Joey Giamichael and Umbrella Research, LLC (newsletter scalping, 2017) SEC 2017-07-25 — settled SEC v. James M. Farinella, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2017) SEC 2017-06-21 — filed SEC v. Jehu Hand and Antonio Katz (paid stock promotion, 2017) SEC 2017-06-15 — filed SEC v. Christopher R. Esposito, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2017) SEC 2017-04-14 $775k judgment SEC v. Lidingo Holdings, LLC, et al., CSIR Group, LLC, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2017) SEC 2017-04-12 — settled SEC v. Craig Keolanui (paid stock promotion, 2017) SEC 2017-04-10 — settled SEC v. Edward Borrelli and Dunedin, Inc. (paid stock promotion, 2017) SEC 2017-04-10 $30k settled
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