Market Manipulation. Search

Market manipulation enforcement actions filed in 2015

This library records 205 market manipulation enforcement actions filed in 2015, brought by CFTC, 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
100
Total penalties
$42.5m
Median penalty
$330k
Largest
$27m
Criminal parallel
28%
Action Agency Filed Technique Penalty Status
SEC v. Bonan Huang, et al. (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-12-23 Insider Trading judgment
SEC v. Michael J. Ling (marking the close, 2015) SEC 2015-12-23 Marking The Close , Matched Orders $100k judgment
SEC v. Danny E. Carpenter (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-12-22 Insider Trading settled
SEC v. Diane D. Dalmy, Esq. (reverse merger schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-12-22 Reverse Merger Schemes , Unregistered Distributions filed
SEC v. Eric E. Shear (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-12-18 Insider Trading settled
SEC v. Edward Laborio and Jonathan Fraiman (boiler rooms, 2015) SEC 2015-12-16 Boiler Rooms $4m judgment
SEC v. Oxford City Football Club, Inc. and Thomas Anthony Guerriero (boiler rooms, 2015) SEC 2015-12-16 Boiler Rooms filed
SEC v. Jessica Gilbertson (reverse merger schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-12-15 Reverse Merger Schemes unknown
SEC v. Jehu Hand and Antonio Katz (paid stock promotion, 2015) SEC 2015-12-11 Paid Stock Promotion , Pump And Dump filed
CFTC v. Total Gas (price manipulation, 2015) CFTC 2015-12-08 Price Manipulation $3.6m judgment
SEC v. Jeffrey K. Skilling et al. (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-12-08 Insider Trading judgment
SEC v. Trudy R. Gilmond (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-12-08 Ponzi Schemes unknown
SEC v. National Note of Utah and Wayne L. Palmer (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-12-04 Ponzi Schemes $1.1m unknown
CFTC v. Arya Motazedi (front running, 2015) CFTC 2015-12-03 Front Running , Insider Trading $100k judgment
SEC v. Homero Joshua Garza (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-12-01 Ponzi Schemes filed
SEC v. James A. Torchia et al. (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-12-01 Ponzi Schemes settled
SEC v. Marwood Group Research, LLC (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-11-24 Insider Trading unknown
SEC v. Steven C. Watson (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-11-17 Insider Trading settled
SEC v. Zhichen Zhou and Yannan Liu (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-11-10 Insider Trading judgment
CFTC v. Navinder Sarao (benchmark submission rigging, 2015) CFTC 2015-11-07 Benchmark Submission Rigging , Ponzi Schemes +3 $1.6m judgment
SEC v. Abraxas J. Discala, Marc E. Wexler, Matthew A. Bell, Craig L. Josephberg, and Ira Shapiro (reverse merger schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-11-04 Reverse Merger Schemes , Unregistered Distributions judgment
SEC v. Fenway Partners, LLC (undisclosed control blocks, 2015) SEC 2015-11-03 Undisclosed Control Blocks settled
SEC v. Vlad B. Spivak, et al. (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-11-02 Insider Trading settled
SEC v. William M. Apostelos, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-10-30 Ponzi Schemes unknown
SEC v. Diverse Financial Corp., et al. (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-10-29 Ponzi Schemes unknown
SEC v. Mary Beth Knight and Rebecca Norton (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-10-28 Insider Trading judgment
SEC v. Summit Trust Company, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-10-27 Ponzi Schemes judgment
SEC v. James N. Fry (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-10-26 Ponzi Schemes settled
SEC v. Joseph Catapano and Michael Piervinanzi (paid stock promotion, 2015) SEC 2015-10-26 Paid Stock Promotion $44k judgment
SEC v. Vladimir Eydelman (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-10-23 Insider Trading $1.2m judgment
CFTC v. John R. Bullar (ponzi schemes, 2015) CFTC 2015-10-21 Ponzi Schemes unknown
CFTC v. Watson (ponzi schemes, 2015) CFTC 2015-10-21 Ponzi Schemes $27m judgment
CFTC v. Chicago Trader Igor B. Oystacher & His Proprietary Trading Company (spoofing, 2015) CFTC 2015-10-20 Spoofing unknown
SEC v. Andrew Farmer, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2015) SEC 2015-10-09 Paid Stock Promotion , Pump And Dump unknown
SEC v. Francis J. van Steenberge and Nicolas Zanen (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-10-09 Insider Trading judgment
SEC v. Allen Ross Smith (unregistered distributions, 2015) SEC 2015-10-08 Unregistered Distributions $43.3k judgment
SEC v. Briargate Trading, LLC and and Eric Oscher (spoofing, 2015) SEC 2015-10-08 Spoofing judgment
SEC v. Garfield Taylor, Inc., et al. (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-10-08 Ponzi Schemes $150k judgment
SEC v. Wolverine Trading, LLC and and Wolverine Asset Management, LLC (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-10-08 Insider Trading , Naked Short Selling Debate settled
SEC v. Oscar Wu (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-10-07 Insider Trading settled
SEC v. Commodore Financial Corp., et al. (boiler rooms, 2015) SEC 2015-10-01 Boiler Rooms , Unregistered Distributions unknown
SEC v. Saleem Khan et al. (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-10-01 Insider Trading judgment
SEC v. Spencer Pharmaceutical Inc., Jean-François Amyot, Maximilien Arella, Ian Morrice, IAB Media Inc., and Hilbroy Advisory Inc. (pump and dump, 2015) SEC 2015-10-01 Pump And Dump judgment
SEC v. Charles Riel III and REinvest LLC (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-09-30 Ponzi Schemes filed
SEC v. David P. Godwin and Anthony G. Roth (wash trading, 2015) SEC 2015-09-30 Wash Trading judgment
SEC v. James Goodland and Securus Wealth Management, LLC (marking the close, 2015) SEC 2015-09-30 Marking The Close , Reverse Merger Schemes settled
SEC v. Christopher Mire (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-09-29 Insider Trading settled
SEC v. Eddie R. Leblanc (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-09-29 Insider Trading settled
SEC v. Robert L. Spallina, et al. (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-09-28 Insider Trading $32.9k settled
CFTC v. Cargill de México SA De CV (wash trading, 2015) CFTC 2015-09-25 Wash Trading $500k judgment
CFTC v. TeraExchange LLC (wash trading, 2015) CFTC 2015-09-25 Wash Trading judgment
SEC v. iShopNoMarkup.com, Inc. (unregistered distributions, 2015) SEC 2015-09-25 Unregistered Distributions $330k judgment
SEC v. Morando Berrettini, et al. (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-09-25 Insider Trading unknown
SEC v. Jason W. Galanis (matched orders, 2015) SEC 2015-09-24 Matched Orders judgment
SEC v. Richard Condon, et al. (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-09-24 Insider Trading filed
SEC v. Idle Media, Inc. and and Marcus Frasier (reverse merger schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-09-22 Reverse Merger Schemes settled
SEC v. Eric McPhail, et al. (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-09-21 Insider Trading settled
SEC v. Frank Morelli III and Louis Buonocore (paid stock promotion, 2015) SEC 2015-09-21 Paid Stock Promotion filed
SEC v. Christopher D. Whetman, CPA (pump and dump, 2015) SEC 2015-09-18 Pump And Dump , Reverse Merger Schemes dismissed
SEC v. Brian David Hall (naked short selling debate, 2015) SEC 2015-09-17 Naked Short Selling Debate settled
SEC v. George Ivakhnik and The Mobile Star Corporation (fake press releases, 2015) SEC 2015-09-17 Fake Press Releases filed
SEC v. Rudolfo DeLaSierra (naked short selling debate, 2015) SEC 2015-09-17 Naked Short Selling Debate settled
SEC v. 8000, Inc., Jonathan E. Bryant, Thomas J. Kelly, and Carl N. Duncan, Esq. (fake press releases, 2015) SEC 2015-09-16 Fake Press Releases judgment
SEC v. Jason Mogler, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-09-15 Ponzi Schemes filed
SEC v. Marco Babini et al. (paid stock promotion, 2015) SEC 2015-09-14 Paid Stock Promotion , Pump And Dump judgment
SEC v. Joseph Paul Zada (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-09-11 Ponzi Schemes appealed
SEC v. Steven M. Dombrowski, CPA (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-09-11 Insider Trading unknown
SEC v. Benjamin Wey, et al. (reverse merger schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-09-10 Reverse Merger Schemes dismissed
SEC v. Maher F. Kara, et al. (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-09-10 Insider Trading judgment
SEC v. BDO USA, LLP (undisclosed control blocks, 2015) SEC 2015-09-09 Undisclosed Control Blocks judgment
SEC v. Bennett Group Financial Services, LLC Bennett and Dawn J. (churning, 2015) SEC 2015-09-09 Churning , Paid Stock Promotion unknown
SEC v. John McEnery III et al. (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-09-09 Insider Trading $64.2k settled
SEC v. Sean C. Henaghan, CPA (undisclosed control blocks, 2015) SEC 2015-09-09 Undisclosed Control Blocks judgment
SEC v. Timothy M. Roberts, Terrance F. Taylor, and Craig Constantinou (unregistered distributions, 2015) SEC 2015-09-09 Unregistered Distributions filed
SEC v. Caribbean Pacific Marketing, Inc. (reverse merger schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-09-08 Reverse Merger Schemes settled
SEC v. Ditto Holdings, Inc. (Now Known as Sovestech and Inc.) (unregistered distributions, 2015) SEC 2015-09-08 Unregistered Distributions settled
SEC v. Marc S. Mandel (unregistered distributions, 2015) SEC 2015-09-08 Unregistered Distributions settled
SEC v. Donald E. Robar (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-09-04 Insider Trading settled
SEC v. Robert A. Hanner (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-09-04 Insider Trading settled
SEC v. Kevin McDonnell (reverse merger schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-09-03 Reverse Merger Schemes settled
SEC v. Mackensen & Company, Inc. and and Warren J. Mackensen (undisclosed control blocks, 2015) SEC 2015-09-03 Undisclosed Control Blocks settled
SEC v. Eric Aronson, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-09-02 Ponzi Schemes $250k judgment
SEC v. Johnson Lambert LLP and Bradley Scott Diericx, CPA (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-08-31 Ponzi Schemes settled
CFTC v. Ron Earl McCullough (ponzi schemes, 2015) CFTC 2015-08-29 Ponzi Schemes $2.5m judgment
SEC v. Ashish Aggarwal, et al. (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-08-25 Insider Trading judgment
SEC v. Moshe Yehuda Dunoff (boiler rooms, 2015) SEC 2015-08-20 Boiler Rooms filed
SEC v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-08-19 Insider Trading settled
SEC v. Bradford D. Szczecinski (undisclosed control blocks, 2015) SEC 2015-08-17 Undisclosed Control Blocks settled
SEC v. Citigroup Alternative Investments LLC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (benchmark submission rigging, 2015) SEC 2015-08-17 Benchmark Submission Rigging settled
SEC v. Tamara S. Kraus (undisclosed control blocks, 2015) SEC 2015-08-17 Undisclosed Control Blocks settled
SEC v. Cedric Cañas Maillard (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-08-13 Insider Trading settled
SEC v. Palladino, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-08-13 Ponzi Schemes unknown
SEC v. Lamson and Jeffrey L., CPA (reverse merger schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-08-11 Reverse Merger Schemes judgment
SEC v. Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC (insider trading, 2015) SEC 2015-08-10 Insider Trading judgment
SEC v. unnamed respondents (paid stock promotion, 2015) SEC 2015-08-10 Paid Stock Promotion , Pump And Dump judgment
SEC v. First Xeris Corp. (undisclosed control blocks, 2015) SEC 2015-08-06 Undisclosed Control Blocks settled
SEC v. David J. Boden, Esq. (ponzi schemes, 2015) SEC 2015-08-05 Ponzi Schemes filed
CFTC v. Keith F. Simmons (ponzi schemes, 2015) CFTC 2015-08-01 Ponzi Schemes settled
SEC v. Pamela S. Smith (unregistered distributions, 2015) SEC 2015-07-30 Unregistered Distributions settled
SEC v. Timothy Patterson (unregistered distributions, 2015) SEC 2015-07-30 Unregistered Distributions settled