The ex-husband of HBO “Sopranos” star Jamie-Lynn Sigler has been sentenced to 11½ years in prison for orchestrating a $300 million pump-and-dump stock scheme, federal prosecutors said.
Have you been added to WhatsApp or Telegram groups promoting some obscure stock as the next big thing?If you have, chances are you trying to be pulled into a pump and dump scheme. Market operators are increasingly using social media to lure unsuspecting investors into trades that invariably end in losses against the latter. Taking note of such mushrooming scams, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has begun cracking down against such market operators in Gujarat for alleged manipulation of stocks through social media platforms.Officials of Sebi’s surveillance department conducted ‘search and seizure’ operations on the premises of three entities in Ahmedabad and Mehsana on Wednesday. These entities are accused of manipulating stocks through messaging apps such as Telegram.
Oct 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Tuesday it obtained an injunction and asset freeze against a man behind a popular Twitter account that promoted the trading of penny stocks before selling them at inflated prices.The SEC alleges that since at least December 2019, Steven Gallagher, 50, of Maumee, Ohio, manipulated stocks by sending thousands of tweets using his handle @AlexDelarge6553 to encourage his numerous followers to buy stocks in which Gallagher had secretly amassed holdings, according to the complaint."The complaint alleges that Gallagher used his followers for his own financial gain, tweeting out false advice to pump up the price of stocks he owned, so he could sell for a profit," said Richard Best, director of the SEC's New York Regional Office. "This case is a reminder that investors should be wary of taking financial advice from unverified sources on Twitter and other social media platforms."
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