Market Manipulation. Search

Market manipulation case library

This library records 2,348 market manipulation enforcement actions brought by financial regulators, each with the agency, the date, the alleged technique, the monetary relief ordered and a link to the regulator's own filing. The whole dataset is downloadable as JSON.

Actions
2,348
Total penalties
$15.4bn
Median penalty
$255k
Agencies
5
Techniques
37

Browse by facet

Every facet below is a real page with its own URL, so it works without JavaScript and can be linked, bookmarked and cited.

By technique

Insider trading 709 Ponzi schemes 568 Paid stock promotion 222 Unregistered distributions 137 Pump and dump 128 Price manipulation 124 Spoofing 120 Undisclosed control blocks 120 Wash trading 108 Boiler rooms 75 Reverse merger schemes 66 Benchmark submission rigging 53 The naked short selling debate 43 Matched orders 38 Churning 21 Layering 19 Free riding and parking 18 Fake press releases 16 Cash versus derivatives schemes 15 Newsletter scalping 15 Marking the close 13 Front running 12 Chat group pumps 11 FX fixing 11 Shell factories 8 False rumours 5 Custodianship shell hijacking 5 Settlement price manipulation 4 Exchange wash trading 3 Banging the close 3 Engineered short squeeze 2 Marking the open 1 Rug pulls 1 Insider listing trading 1 Oracle manipulation 1 Float locking 1 Dilution death spirals 1

By agency

ASIC 112 CFTC 347 FCA 47 OSC 71 SEC 1771

By year filed

2026 91 2025 120 2024 193 2023 223 2022 188 2021 159 2020 200 2019 192 2018 244 2017 228 2016 194 2015 229 2014 44 2013 43

Ranked lists: largest penalties · largest spoofing penalties · longest sentences · most-charged individuals · biggest crypto cases · most active courts

All actions, newest first

Action Agency Filed Technique Penalty Status
SEC v. Stephen Keith Woodard, Sr. (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-03-01 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Shawn E. Good (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-02-27 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Energy & Environmental Investments, LLC and others (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-02-24 Ponzi Schemes $1m judgment
CFTC v. Several People and Companies (ponzi schemes, 2023) CFTC 2023-02-23 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. James Andrew Stiles, Jr. & Edward Gray Stiles, Jr. (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-02-23 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Kevin A. Van de Grift and Gil Friedman (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-02-23 Insider Trading — filed
ASIC brings criminal charges against third individual in relation to Courtenay House (2023) ASIC 2023-02-22 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Paul Anthony Pierce (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-02-17 Paid Stock Promotion — settled
OSC v. Aaron Wolfe (insider trading, 2023) OSC 2023-02-17 Insider Trading — unknown
CFTC v. California-based Company and Its CEO (ponzi schemes, 2023) CFTC 2023-02-16 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Milan Patel (false rumors, 2023) SEC 2023-02-16 False Rumors — filed
Former CEO of Big Un Limited charged with insider trading (ASIC, 2023) ASIC 2023-02-14 Insider Trading — filed
CFTC v. Three Puerto Rico Residents and Their Companies (ponzi schemes, 2023) CFTC 2023-02-13 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Olga Kuprina (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-02-08 Insider Trading , Spoofing — filed
ASIC v. Don George Evans (price manipulation, 2023) ASIC 2023-02-07 Price Manipulation — filed
SEC v. Randy Herschaft (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-01-30 Insider Trading $35.2k settled
SEC v. Donna Matuizek (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-01-27 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Austin D. Ellison-Meade (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-01-24 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Charlie Abujudeh (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-01-23 Paid Stock Promotion $414k judgment
SEC v. David S.Y. Chang (unregistered distributions, 2023) SEC 2023-01-23 Unregistered Distributions — settled
OSC v. Nvest Canada Inc. and others (paid stock promotion, 2023) OSC 2023-01-20 Paid Stock Promotion — judgment
SEC v. Caroline Ellison and Zixiao "Gary" Wang (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-01-19 Paid Stock Promotion — settled
SEC v. Nexo Capital Inc. (unregistered distributions, 2023) SEC 2023-01-19 Unregistered Distributions — settled
SEC v. Samuel Bankman-Fried (paid stock promotion, 2023) SEC 2023-01-19 Paid Stock Promotion — filed
SEC v. Covington & Burling LLP (insider trading, 2023) SEC 2023-01-12 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Yossi Engel (ponzi schemes, 2023) SEC 2023-01-12 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
CFTC v. Avraham Eisenberg (oracle manipulation, 2023) CFTC 2023-01-10 Oracle Manipulation — filed
ASIC v. Vaughan Bowen (insider trading, 2022) ASIC 2022-12-23 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Lawrence Billimek and Alan Williams (front running, 2022) SEC 2022-12-20 Front Running — unknown
West Australian man arrested, charged with insider trading offences (ASIC, 2022) ASIC 2022-12-19 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Honeywell International Inc. (Corrected) (wash trading, 2022) SEC 2022-12-19 Wash Trading — unknown
CFTC v. Commodity Pool Operators and Their Co-Chief Investment Officer (price manipulation, 2022) CFTC 2022-12-15 Price Manipulation — filed
Former Courtenay House contractor pleads guilty (ASIC, 2022) ASIC 2022-12-14 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
CFTC v. Minnesota Registrant (spoofing, 2022) CFTC 2022-12-12 Spoofing $550k judgment
SEC v. In Ovations Holdings, Inc. and Mark Goldberg (fake press releases, 2022) SEC 2022-12-09 Fake Press Releases , Paid Stock Promotion — judgment
SEC v. Vincent Issier (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-12-06 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Joseph R. Earle Jr, Barry D. Reagh, William Clayton, Francis T. Dudley, Steven E. Bryant, Upper Street Marketing, Inc. and Project Growth International, Inc. (boiler rooms, 2022) SEC 2022-12-05 Boiler Rooms , Pump And Dump — unknown
SEC v. PFP Entrust Corp. (unregistered distributions, 2022) SEC 2022-12-05 Unregistered Distributions — settled
SEC v. Bruce Conway et al. (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-12-02 Insider Trading — unknown
CFTC v. Jeremy Spence (ponzi schemes, 2022) CFTC 2022-12-01 Ponzi Schemes $2.8m judgment
SEC v. Yinghang "James" Yang and Yuanbiao Chen (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-11-30 Insider Trading $246k judgment
SEC v. Legal & General Investment Management America, Inc. (matched orders, 2022) SEC 2022-11-21 Matched Orders — settled
SEC v. Tang and Jason Jianxun, CPA (reverse merger schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-11-17 Reverse Merger Schemes — dismissed
Former Tesla Motors Australia director pleads guilty to insider trading (ASIC, 2022) ASIC 2022-11-16 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. Charles Rustin Holzer, Fernando Motta Moraes (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-11-16 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Adrian J. Kawuba, Civ. Action (ponzi schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-11-14 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Brian Wong (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-11-10 Insider Trading — settled
OSC v. Cormark Securities Inc. and others (insider trading, 2022) OSC 2022-11-09 Insider Trading — appealed
SEC v. PIC Renegade Properties, LLC (unregistered distributions, 2022) SEC 2022-11-09 Unregistered Distributions — settled
Former Courtenay House director pleads guilty to conducting $180 million Ponzi scheme (ASIC, 2022) ASIC 2022-11-08 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Douver Torres Braga, Joff Paradise, and Keleionalani Akana Taylor, Jonathan Tetreault (ponzi schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-11-04 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Geraci and Paul (boiler rooms, 2022) SEC 2022-11-04 Boiler Rooms — unknown
SEC v. Michael E. Mueller (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-11-04 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. Scott David Mahoney (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-11-04 Paid Stock Promotion — judgment
SEC v. Jeremy K. Rounsville (wash trading, 2022) SEC 2022-11-03 Wash Trading $207k settled
SEC v. John C. Ahearn (undisclosed control blocks, 2022) SEC 2022-11-03 Undisclosed Control Blocks — judgment
SEC v. Syed Arham Arbab, Tomas Javier Jimenez, Blake Douglas McKinney, Mushfiqur Rahman, John Ryan Shows, and William Carl Spagnoli (ponzi schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-11-01 Ponzi Schemes — settled
SEC v. Mark Alan Lisser a/k/a Mark Alan a/k/a Mark Allen (boiler rooms, 2022) SEC 2022-10-27 Boiler Rooms — judgment
SEC v. Scott A. Woodward, CPA (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-10-25 Insider Trading — settled
CFTC v. unnamed respondents (cash vs derivatives schemes, 2022) CFTC 2022-10-20 Cash Vs Derivatives Schemes , Exchange Wash Trading +4 $41m judgment
SEC v. NewAge, Inc. (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-10-19 Paid Stock Promotion — settled
SEC v. Brent David Willis (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-10-18 Insider Trading — unknown
SEC v. Kevin B. Merrill, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-10-18 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
CFTC v. Walsh (ponzi schemes, 2022) CFTC 2022-10-17 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. National Realty Investment Advisors LLC, Rey E. Grabato II, Daniel Coley O'Brien, Thomas Nicholas Salzano and others (ponzi schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-10-14 Ponzi Schemes — filed
CFTC v. Digital Asset Derivatives Platform and Miami Resident (price manipulation, 2022) CFTC 2022-10-03 Price Manipulation — filed
SEC v. Harpreet Saini and John Lester Mandac Natividad (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-10-03 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Kimberly Kardashian (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-10-03 Paid Stock Promotion — settled
SEC v. Mauricio Chavez, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-10-03 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Arbitrade Ltd., et al. (pump and dump, 2022) SEC 2022-09-30 Pump And Dump — unknown
SEC v. Ari Lauer (ponzi schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-09-30 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Carl V. Dawson (undisclosed control blocks, 2022) SEC 2022-09-30 Undisclosed Control Blocks — settled
SEC v. Cemtrex, Inc. and Saagar Govil (Corrected) (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-09-30 Paid Stock Promotion — settled
SEC v. Darrell Green (undisclosed control blocks, 2022) SEC 2022-09-30 Undisclosed Control Blocks — settled
SEC v. Jonathan William Mikula, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-09-30 Paid Stock Promotion $777k settled
SEC v. Lisa Sanford (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-09-30 Paid Stock Promotion — settled
SEC v. Charles Parrino (false rumors, 2022) SEC 2022-09-28 False Rumors — settled
SEC v. Matthew Nicosia, William Reninger, Fabrizio Di Carlo, and Ronald Touchard (boiler rooms, 2022) SEC 2022-09-28 Boiler Rooms , Pump And Dump — filed
SEC v. Christian J. Gonzalez (ponzi schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-09-27 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. James T. Patten, et al. (reverse merger schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-09-27 Reverse Merger Schemes — filed
SEC v. Kendricks, et al., Mark Wayne Ramsey (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-09-27 Insider Trading — judgment
CFTC v. California Trader and Prop Firm (spoofing, 2022) CFTC 2022-09-26 Spoofing $150k judgment
SEC v. James Patrick O'connell (undisclosed control blocks, 2022) SEC 2022-09-26 Undisclosed Control Blocks — settled
SEC v. Judith Paris-Pinder (ponzi schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-09-26 Ponzi Schemes — judgment
SEC v. Sang N. Phan and Rich N. Phan (free riding and parking, 2022) SEC 2022-09-26 Free Riding And Parking — filed
CFTC v. Two Chinese Companies (wash trading, 2022) CFTC 2022-09-23 Wash Trading $720k judgment
SEC v. Brian Lam, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-09-23 Ponzi Schemes — filed
SEC v. Compass Minerals International, Inc. (paid stock promotion, 2022) SEC 2022-09-23 Paid Stock Promotion — settled
SEC v. Friedman LLP (reverse merger schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-09-23 Reverse Merger Schemes — dismissed
SEC v. James Arthur McDonald, Jr. and Hercules Investments, LLC (ponzi schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-09-22 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
SEC v. Michael Weiss (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-09-22 Insider Trading — judgment
SEC v. Sheng Fu and Ming Xu (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-09-21 Insider Trading — settled
SEC v. John P. Mendes, et al. (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-09-20 Insider Trading $51.6k settled
SEC v. Sparkster, Ltd. and Sajjad Daya (unregistered distributions, 2022) SEC 2022-09-19 Unregistered Distributions $500k settled
SEC v. Waddell & Reed, LLC (churning, 2022) SEC 2022-09-19 Churning — settled
SEC v. Nutra Pharma Corp. et al (unregistered distributions, 2022) SEC 2022-09-16 Unregistered Distributions — unknown
SEC v. Gabriel Edelman, Creative Advancement LLC and Edelman Blockchain Advisors LLC (ponzi schemes, 2022) SEC 2022-09-15 Ponzi Schemes — unknown
CFTC v. Tae Hung Kang (ponzi schemes, 2022) CFTC 2022-09-08 Ponzi Schemes $800k judgment
SEC v. NPA Asset Management, LLC (churning, 2022) SEC 2022-09-08 Churning — settled
SEC v. Todd Christopher Doucette (insider trading, 2022) SEC 2022-09-07 Insider Trading — settled