Market Manipulation. Search

Market manipulation enforcement actions filed in 2020

This library records 192 market manipulation enforcement actions filed in 2020, brought by AMF-FR, ASIC, CFTC, FCA, OSC, SEC.

Counts by year reflect when an action was filed or announced, not when the underlying conduct occurred — those are often years apart. Compare across years with care: a single multi-defendant sweep can dominate a year's count.

Actions
92
Total penalties
$48m
Median penalty
$157k
Largest
$8.4m
Criminal parallel
28%
Action Agency Filed Technique Penalty Status
SEC v. IRTH Communications, LLC and Andrew Haag (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-07-22 Paid Stock Promotion $42.5k settled
SEC v. Edmond Leung (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-07-21 Insider Trading $69.6k settled
SEC v. Joseph Zhang (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-07-21 Insider Trading $66.7k settled
OSC v. Coinsquare Ltd. and others (exchange wash trading, 2020) OSC 2020-07-17 Exchange Wash Trading , Wash Trading — settled
SEC v. Abetterfinancialplan.Com, LLC (unregistered distributions, 2020) SEC 2020-07-14 Unregistered Distributions $8.7k settled
CFTC v. California and Colorado Residents (ponzi schemes, 2020) CFTC 2020-07-08 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
CFTC v. Mark Miller and Foremost Trading LLC (matched orders, 2020) CFTC 2020-07-06 Matched Orders $450k judgment
SEC v. Michelle Dipp (2020) SEC 2020-06-30 $75k settled
SEC v. BNP Paribas Securities Corp. (naked short selling debate, 2020) SEC 2020-06-29 Naked Short Selling Debate $250k settled
SEC v. Dandan Wu (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-06-29 Insider Trading $41.9k settled
FCA v. Redcentric PLC (2020) FCA 2020-06-26 — judgment
SEC v. Todd Lahr and Thomas Megas (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-06-24 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
ASIC v. Avrohom Kimelman (insider trading, 2020) ASIC 2020-06-23 Insider Trading — judgment
CFTC v. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (spoofing, 2020) CFTC 2020-06-18 Spoofing $1.3m settled
SEC v. Gomes et al. (unregistered distributions, 2020) SEC 2020-06-18 Unregistered Distributions — judgment
SEC v. Neil Burkholz, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-06-15 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
Former CFO charged with market manipulation and fraud offences (ASIC, 2020) ASIC 2020-06-11 Price Manipulation — judgment
CFTC v. Craig L. Clavin and Lighthouse Futures, Ltd. (2020) CFTC 2020-06-11 $25k settled
SEC v. Dubovoy et al.: settlements with eight defendants (hack to trade, 2020) SEC 2020-06-10 Hack To Trade — judgment
SEC v. Jason C. Nielsen (pump and dump, 2020) SEC 2020-06-10 Pump And Dump , Spoofing — settled
SEC v. Daniel F. Putnam, et al. (2020) SEC 2020-06-05 $7.2m judgment
SEC v. Jana Faith Kiena, CPA (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-06-05 Insider Trading $125k settled
Former CEO and director of Sirtex Medical Limited sentenced for insider trading (ASIC, 2020) ASIC 2020-06-04 Insider Trading — judgment
CFTC v. William S. Evans III (2020) CFTC 2020-06-02 — settled
SEC v. BitClave PTE Ltd. (unregistered distributions, 2020) SEC 2020-05-28 Unregistered Distributions $400k settled
SEC v. Ares Management LLC (2020) SEC 2020-05-26 $1m settled
SEC v. Paul Ewer (boiler rooms, 2020) SEC 2020-05-22 Boiler Rooms — settled
SEC v. Robert Gilbert (boiler rooms, 2020) SEC 2020-05-22 Boiler Rooms — judgment
CFTC v. Casper Mikkelsen (2020) CFTC 2020-05-18 $3.6m judgment
SEC v. Turbo Global Partners, Inc. and Robert W. Singerman (fake press releases, 2020) SEC 2020-05-14 Fake Press Releases — settled
SEC v. Clinton Maurice Tucker II (boiler rooms, 2020) SEC 2020-05-11 Boiler Rooms — judgment
CFTC v. Mehran Khorrami and Cayley Investment Management, LLC (wash trading, 2020) CFTC 2020-05-07 Wash Trading $150k judgment
SEC v. Damon Elliott, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-05-06 Ponzi Schemes $5.4m judgment
SEC v. Zhuobin Hong, et al. (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-05-05 Insider Trading $2.3m settled
SEC v. American Bondholders Foundation, LLC and Jonna Bianco (unregistered distributions, 2020) SEC 2020-04-30 Unregistered Distributions $65k settled
SEC v. Wei Duan (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-04-30 Insider Trading $60k settled
SEC v. Semper Capital Management, L.P. (mismarking, 2020) SEC 2020-04-28 Mismarking $375k settled
SEC v. Aequitas Management, LLC, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-04-24 Ponzi Schemes $925k judgment
SEC v. Biltmore International Corporation (naked short selling debate, 2020) SEC 2020-04-24 Naked Short Selling Debate $125k settled
SEC v. Barry R. Bekkedam (2020) SEC 2020-04-22 — settled
SEC v. Amir Waldman, et al. (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-04-17 Insider Trading $1.1m judgment
AMF France v. Sébastien Loux (insider trading, 2020) AMF (France) 2020-04-09 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Ieremenko et al.: settlements with Kwon and Sabodakha (hack to trade, 2020) SEC 2020-04-09 Hack To Trade $149k settled
SEC v. Bryan Cohen and George Nikas (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-03-30 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Benjamin Kirkland (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-03-27 Insider Trading $23.1k settled
SEC v. David M. Mahan (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-03-26 Insider Trading $87.3k judgment
SEC v. Mychal Kendricks and Hamed A. Ettu (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-03-23 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Scott O. Hirsch and Kenneth L. Friedman (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-03-19 Insider Trading $597k settled
SEC v. Denis Georgiyevich Sotnikov, et al. (fake certificate-of-deposit fraud, 2020) SEC 2020-03-16 $8.4m judgment
SEC v. Stacey Beane, Justin Deckert and Travis Laska (2020) SEC 2020-03-13 $30k judgment
SEC v. BMA Securities, LLC (naked short selling debate, 2020) SEC 2020-03-12 Naked Short Selling Debate $275k settled
SEC v. Barry Honig, et al. (pump and dump, 2020) SEC 2020-03-11 Pump And Dump — judgment
SEC v. PTG Capital Partners, Ltd. (sham tender offers, 2020) SEC 2020-03-11 EDGAR Filing Fraud , Sham Tender Offers $1.5m judgment
SEC v. Todays Growth Consultant Inc. and Kenneth D. Courtright, III (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-03-06 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Tomer Feingold and Dov Malnik (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-03-06 Insider Trading $3.8m settled
SEC v. Brook Church-Koegel, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-03-05 Ponzi Schemes — settled
AMF France v. Forever Winner International Development Ltd, A and B (insider trading, 2020) AMF (France) 2020-02-28 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Bradley Davis (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-02-28 Insider Trading $100k judgment
SEC v. Shawn Severson (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-02-28 Paid Stock Promotion $3.5k settled
SEC v. Steven Seagal (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-02-27 Paid Stock Promotion $157k settled
Former investment analyst pleads guilty to insider trading in securities of Big Un Limited (ASIC, 2020) ASIC 2020-02-25 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Charles F. Kerwin (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-02-24 Insider Trading $47.4k settled
SEC v. Kit Mun Chan, Lau Kean Chong, Chong Poui Fan, Binji Lu, and Youn Chien Wong (matched orders, 2020) SEC 2020-02-21 Matched Orders $775k judgment
CFTC v. Winston Reed Investments LLC and Mark N. Pyatt (2020) CFTC 2020-02-20 — settled
SEC v. Jon L. Aronson and Elliet N. Aronson (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-02-20 Insider Trading $40.6k settled
SEC v. Richard Lee, et al. (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-02-20 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. EquiAlt LLC, et al. (2020) SEC 2020-02-18 $1.5m settled
CFTC v. Colorado Resident (ponzi schemes, 2020) CFTC 2020-02-14 Ponzi Schemes $450k judgment
SEC v. Charlie Jinan Chen and Shui Foon Mok (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-02-05 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Cannell Capital, LLC (2020) SEC 2020-02-04 $150k settled
OSC v. Matthew John Hamilton (undisclosed control blocks, 2020) OSC 2020-01-31 Undisclosed Control Blocks — judgment
SEC v. Bill Tsai (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-01-31 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. DFRF Enterprises LLC, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-01-31 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Michael Douglas Billings and MDB Group, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-01-31 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Edward E. Matthes (2020) SEC 2020-01-28 — settled
SEC v. David Aubel and Robert Raffa (pump and dump, 2020) SEC 2020-01-27 Pump And Dump , Undisclosed Control Blocks $150k judgment
SEC v. Jeffrey P. Carpoff and Paulette Carpoff (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-01-24 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Benjamin L. Bunker, Esq. (pump and dump, 2020) SEC 2020-01-23 Pump And Dump , Undisclosed Control Blocks +1 — settled
CFTC v. Propex Derivatives Pty Ltd (spoofing, 2020) CFTC 2020-01-21 Spoofing $462k judgment
SEC v. Guy Scott Griffithe, et al. (2020) SEC 2020-01-21 $3.3m judgment
SEC v. Drake et al., Messier et al., Brooks (boiler rooms, 2020) SEC 2020-01-16 Boiler Rooms — judgment
SEC v. Lidingo Holdings, LLC, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-01-14 Paid Stock Promotion — judgment
CFTC v. Mirae Asset Daewoo Co., Ltd. (spoofing, 2020) CFTC 2020-01-13 Spoofing $700k judgment
SEC v. Robert O. Carr and Katherine M. Hanratty (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-01-13 Insider Trading $251k judgment
CFTC v. US Coin Bullion LLC and its Owners (ponzi schemes, 2020) CFTC 2020-01-10 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Bajic et al., Ciapala et al. (unregistered distributions, 2020) SEC 2020-01-10 Unregistered Distributions — settled
SEC v. John James Sheehan, Jr. (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-01-10 Ponzi Schemes $37.5k settled
SEC v. Donald G. Blakstad (2020) SEC 2020-01-08 — settled
SEC v. Edward Espinal and Cash Flow Partners, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-01-07 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Ulrik Debo (pump and dump, 2020) SEC 2020-01-03 Pump And Dump , Undisclosed Control Blocks — filed
SEC v. James V. Mazzo, et al. (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-01-02 Insider Trading $56k settled
SEC v. Pinto-Thomaz, et al. (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-01-02 Insider Trading — judgment