Market Manipulation. Search

Market manipulation enforcement actions filed in 2020

This library records 178 market manipulation enforcement actions filed in 2020, 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
78
Total penalties
$12.1m
Median penalty
$150k
Largest
$9m
Criminal parallel
27%
Action Agency Filed Technique Penalty Status
SEC v. Todd H. Lahr, Esq. (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-06-24 Ponzi Schemes judgment
SEC v. Todd Lahr and Thomas Megas (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-06-24 Ponzi Schemes judgment
SEC v. Matthew Ledvina, Esq. (pump and dump, 2020) SEC 2020-06-22 Pump And Dump unknown
CFTC v. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (spoofing, 2020) CFTC 2020-06-18 Spoofing $9m settled
SEC v. Diane J. Harrison, Esq. (undisclosed control blocks, 2020) SEC 2020-06-18 Undisclosed Control Blocks judgment
SEC v. Gomes et al. (unregistered distributions, 2020) SEC 2020-06-18 Unregistered Distributions filed
SEC v. Neil Burkholz, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-06-15 Ponzi Schemes judgment
CFTC v. Unregistered Commodity Pool Operator and Its Chief Executive Officer (ponzi schemes, 2020) CFTC 2020-06-11 Ponzi Schemes filed
SEC v. Jason C. Nielsen (pump and dump, 2020) SEC 2020-06-10 Pump And Dump , Spoofing filed
SEC v. Daniel F. Putnam, Jean Paul Ramirez Rico, Angel A. Rodriguez, MMT Distribution, LLC, R & D Global (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-06-05 Ponzi Schemes unknown
SEC v. Jana Faith Kiena, CPA (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-06-05 Insider Trading $125k settled
CFTC v. Kentucky Man (ponzi schemes, 2020) CFTC 2020-06-02 Ponzi Schemes filed
SEC v. BitClave PTE Ltd. (unregistered distributions, 2020) SEC 2020-05-28 Unregistered Distributions $400k settled
SEC v. Ares Management LLC (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-05-26 Insider Trading settled
SEC v. Paul Ewer (boiler rooms, 2020) SEC 2020-05-22 Boiler Rooms unknown
SEC v. Robert Gilbert (boiler rooms, 2020) SEC 2020-05-22 Boiler Rooms judgment
CFTC v. Danish Man (ponzi schemes, 2020) CFTC 2020-05-18 Ponzi Schemes filed
SEC v. Turbo Global Partners, Inc. and Robert W. Singerman (boiler rooms, 2020) SEC 2020-05-14 Boiler Rooms filed
SEC v. Clinton Maurice Tucker II (boiler rooms, 2020) SEC 2020-05-11 Boiler Rooms filed
CFTC v. Trader and His Firm (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 filed
SEC v. Zhuobin Hong, et al. (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-05-05 Insider Trading filed
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 settled
SEC v. Aequitas Management, LLC, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-04-24 Ponzi Schemes $625k judgment
SEC v. Biltmore International Corporation (naked short selling debate, 2020) SEC 2020-04-24 Naked Short Selling Debate , Unregistered Distributions settled
SEC v. Jeffrey G. Klein (boiler rooms, 2020) SEC 2020-04-24 Boiler Rooms unknown
SEC v. Barry R. Bekkedam (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-04-22 Ponzi Schemes unknown
SEC v. Amir Waldman, et al. (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-04-17 Insider Trading judgment
SEC v. Brian Robert Sodi, CPA (newsletter scalping, 2020) SEC 2020-04-17 Newsletter Scalping , Unregistered Distributions judgment
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 settled
SEC v. David M. Mahan (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-03-26 Insider Trading judgment
SEC v. Kendricks, et al., 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 settled
SEC v. Denis Georgiyevich Sotnikov, et al. (spoofing, 2020) SEC 2020-03-16 Spoofing filed
SEC v. Stacey Beane, Justin Deckert and Travis Laska (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-03-13 Ponzi Schemes $30k judgment
SEC v. BMA Securities, LLC (naked short selling debate, 2020) SEC 2020-03-12 Naked Short Selling Debate settled
SEC v. David G. Dreslin, CPA (reverse merger schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-03-12 Reverse Merger Schemes judgment
SEC v. Barry Honig, et al. (pump and dump, 2020) SEC 2020-03-11 Pump And Dump 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 filed
SEC v. Brook Church-Koegel, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-03-05 Ponzi Schemes filed
SEC v. Bradley Davis (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-02-28 Insider Trading unknown
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 settled
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 judgment
CFTC v. Investment Firm and VP (ponzi schemes, 2020) CFTC 2020-02-20 Ponzi Schemes filed
SEC v. Jon L. Aronson and Elliet N. Aronson (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-02-20 Insider Trading judgment
SEC v. Richard Lee, et al. (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-02-20 Insider Trading judgment
SEC v. EquiAlt LLC et al. (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-02-18 Ponzi Schemes filed
CFTC v. Colorado Resident (ponzi schemes, 2020) CFTC 2020-02-14 Ponzi Schemes filed
SEC v. Marc A. Celello, Esq. (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-02-13 Ponzi Schemes judgment
SEC v. Charlie Jinan Chen and Shui Foon Mok (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-02-05 Insider Trading unknown
SEC v. Cannell Capital, LLC (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-02-04 Insider Trading settled
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 (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-01-28 Ponzi Schemes judgment
SEC v. David Aubel and Robert Raffa (paid stock promotion, 2020) SEC 2020-01-27 Paid Stock Promotion $150k judgment
SEC v. Jeffrey P. Carpoff and Paulette Carpoff (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-01-24 Ponzi Schemes settled
SEC v. Benjamin L. Bunker, Esq. (pump and dump, 2020) SEC 2020-01-23 Pump And Dump , Reverse Merger Schemes +1 unknown
CFTC v. Australian Company (spoofing, 2020) CFTC 2020-01-21 Spoofing $462k judgment
SEC v. Guy Scott Griffithe, Robert William Russell, Renewable Technologies Solution, Inc., Green Acres Pharms, LLC, and others (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-01-21 Ponzi Schemes filed
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. South Korean Company (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 unknown
SEC v. Bajic et al., Ciapala et al. (unregistered distributions, 2020) SEC 2020-01-10 Unregistered Distributions filed
SEC v. John James Sheehan, Jr. (unregistered distributions, 2020) SEC 2020-01-10 Unregistered Distributions settled
SEC v. Donald G. Blakstad (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-01-08 Insider Trading filed
SEC v. Edward Espinal and Cash Flow Partners, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2020) SEC 2020-01-07 Ponzi Schemes filed
SEC v. Luke Christopher Zouvas, Esq. (pump and dump, 2020) SEC 2020-01-07 Pump And Dump judgment
SEC v. Ulrik Debo (custodianship shell hijacking, 2020) SEC 2020-01-03 Custodianship Shell Hijacking , Pump And Dump +1 filed
SEC v. James V. Mazzo, et al. (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-01-02 Insider Trading $56k judgment
SEC v. Pinto-Thomaz, et al. (insider trading, 2020) SEC 2020-01-02 Insider Trading judgment