Security News > 2022 > December > SEC charges crew of social media influencers with $100m fraud

Eight braggadocious social media influencers fond of posing next to sportscars are facing charges from the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice, who claim they manipulated their 1.5 million followers in order to help themselves to $100 million in "Fraudulent profits."

The suspects, all men in their twenties and thirties, were charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud in connection with a long-running, social media-based "Pump and dump" scheme, a recently unsealed Texas federal grand jury indictment [PDF] and an SEC complaint [PDF] revealed.

The SEC alleged the suspects used Twitter and Discord to manipulate exchange-traded stocks in a $100 million securities fraud scheme, detailing some pretty amusing excerpts from exchanges it claims took place between individuals in the group.

The complaint alleged that on March 1, 2021, Knight and Cooperman discussed the group's alleged manipulation of the securities of GTT Communications, Inc, which at the time traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker GTT.2.

All eight were charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud; Constantin was charged with three counts of securities fraud and a count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity; Matlock and Deel were both charged with five counts of securities fraud; Rybarczyk was charged with four counts of securities fraud; and Hrvatin, Cooperman, and Hennessey were each charged with two counts of securities fraud.

If convicted, each suspect faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison for conspiracy to commit securities fraud, the DoJ said.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/12/15/im_playing_this_extremely_smart/