Market Manipulation. Search

Layering enforcement actions

This library records 15 enforcement actions tagged layering. Layering is placing multiple orders at several consecutive price levels with no intention of trading them, building an apparent wall of depth that pushes the price toward a genuine order on the other side.

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 layering technique page.

Actions
15
Total penalties
$39.7m
Median penalty
$800k
Largest
$38m
Criminal parallel
27%
Action Agency Filed Penalty Status
SEC v. SpeedRoute LLC (layering, 2025) SEC 2025-01-10 settled
SEC v. Lightspeed Financial Services Group LLC (layering, 2024) SEC 2024-11-22 settled
SEC v. OTC Link LLC (layering, 2024) SEC 2024-08-12 settled
SEC v. Archipelago Trading Services, Inc. (layering, 2023) SEC 2023-08-29 settled
SEC v. Lek Securities Corporation, et. al. (layering, 2022) SEC 2022-06-17 appealed
SEC v. Milrud (layering, 2022) SEC 2022-01-26 judgment
SEC v. Xuepeng Xie (layering, 2021) SEC 2021-09-27 $600k settled
SEC v. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (cash vs derivatives schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-09-29 filed
SEC v. Nicholas Mejia Scrivener (layering, 2020) SEC 2020-08-10 $50k settled
SEC v. Lek Securities Corp., et al. (layering, 2019) SEC 2019-10-10 $1m judgment
SEC v. Lek Securities Corp. et al. (layering, 2017) SEC 2017-08-29 unknown
SEC v. Lek Securities Corporation, et al. (layering, 2017) SEC 2017-03-10 unknown
CFTC v. Navinder Singh Sarao (layering, 2016) CFTC 2016-11-18 $38m judgment
CFTC v. U.K. Resident Navinder Singh Sarao and His Company Nav Sarao Futures Limited PLC (layering, 2015) CFTC 2015-04-22 judgment
SEC v. Aleksandr Milrud (layering, 2015) SEC 2015-01-13 judgment