SEC charge social media influencers over alleged pump-and-dump scheme

Seven Twitter users and a podcaster have been charged in an alleged $100 million stock manipulation scheme, the SEC says.

           

https://www.facebook.com/cnn/posts/10163259744996509

1ºShelly Roberts Started under Trump…investigation by Dems. Be educated.

“Altogether, the defendants had more than 1.5 million Twitter followers. Two of the defendants allegedly ran a group on Discord known as Atlas Trading. Launched in 2018, the Atlas group had grown to 150,000 members by early last year, according to a copy of the SEC complaint.

Other alleged members of the scheme helped promote Atlas on various platforms, the complaint said, and in some cases knowingly discussed their market manipulation on Discord voice chats whose transcripts the SEC included in the complaint.

The criminal charges include conspiracy to commit securities fraud and, for several of the defendants, multiple counts of securities fraud. Each of the charges carries a maximum possible sentence of 25 years in prison.

Both the SEC and the Justice Department said a government investigation is still ongoing.”



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