TechDigits

Tech news
Friday, Jun 09, 2023

Influencers who promoted stock on social media charged with $100m fraud scheme

Influencers who promoted stock on social media charged with $100m fraud scheme

While their fans were being duped on Twitter and Discord, the accused showcased their "extravagant lifestyles" online, including posing in photos with luxury cars, authorities have alleged.

Eight social media influencers who allegedly used their status to manipulate stock prices have been charged in a $100m (£81m) fraud scheme.

The young men had a combined following of 1.5 million people on Twitter, and used it alongside messaging platform Discord to promote themselves as successful traders and encourage their fans to invest in selected shares.

According to charges brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, when the price of those shares rose, they would regularly sell them off without ever disclosing their plans.

It's a process often referred to as "pump and dump".

Authorities said the group's loyal followers were fed "a steady diet of misinformation" since at least January 2020, "which resulted in fraudulent profits of approximately $100m".

While their fans were being duped, the accused showcased their "extravagant lifestyles" online, including posing in photos with luxury cars, authorities alleged.



Seven of the men have been charged with securities fraud, and their Twitter handles were revealed alongside their names and states of residence:

• Perry Matlock (@PJ_Matlock) of Texas

• Edward Constantin (@MrZackMorris) of Texas

• Thomas Cooperman (@ohheytommy) of California

• Gary Deel (@notoriousalerts) of California

• Mitchell Hennessey (@Hugh_Henne) of New Jersey

• Stefan Hrvatin (@LadeBackk) of Florida

• John Rybarczyk (@Ultra_Calls) of Texas

Tweets from the men regularly encouraged members of the "Goblin Gang" to purchase stock, inviting followers to contact them to "get these levels" and the daily "game plan" texted straight to them.

Most of the accounts are still online and were tweeting as recently as three or four days ago.



The eighth man, Daniel Knight (@DipDeity) of Texas, has been charged with aiding and abetting the alleged scheme, including via a podcast he co-hosted and used to promote many of the other men as expert traders.

He is said to have also traded in concert with them and regularly profited from doing so.

Each could face up to 25 years in jail for conspiracy to commit securities fraud and each count of securities fraud.

Constantin also faces a maximum term of 10 years if convicted of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.


It comes amid a US crackdown on high-profile people who promote financial products, including cryptocurrency.

Last month, an Instagram star was jailed in California for more than 11 years over an international, multi-million dollar scam which targeted an English Premier League club.

Weeks earlier, Kim Kardashian was fined and banned from promoting crypto for three years to settle federal charges over an Instagram post about the EthereumMax asset.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
Close
0:00
0:00
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
Prominent Hacker Forum RaidForums Suffers Substantial Data Breach
Nvidia CEO Huang says firms, individuals without AI expertise will be left behind
WPP Revolutionizes Advertising with NVIDIA's AI Powerhouse
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Quits Google To Warn Of The Tech's Dangers
Vermont Man Charged with Stalking After Secretly Tracking Woman with Apple AirTag
Elon Musk Statements About Tesla Autopilot Could Be 'Deepfakes,' Lawyers Claim. Judge Evette Pennypacker Does Not Understand How Far and Advanced This Technology Became
AT&T's Successful Test of Satellite-Based Phone Call Raises Possibility of Widespread Coverage
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh slams New York Times' pro-government stance and treatment of sources
Fox News Settles their case with Dominion Voting Systems for a staggering $787.5 MILLION
The G-7 aims to make global crypto regulations tougher
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
U.S. charges FTX's Bankman-Fried with paying $40 million bribe
Fallen 'Crypto King' Who Owes Millions to Investors Was Kidnapped and Tortured
Regulators blame social media for SVB's rapid collapse: 'Complete game changer'
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
A brief banking situation report
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
Being a Tiktoker might be expensive…
China's top tech firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, and JD.com, are developing their own versions of Open AI's AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT
This shocking picture, showing how terrible is the results of the earthquake in Turkey
The desk of King Carlos Alberto of Sardinia has many secret compartments
Charlie Munger, calls for a ban on cryptocurrencies in the US, following China's lead
First generation unopened iPhone set to fetch more than $50,000 at auction.
Almost 30% of professionals say they've tried ChatGPT at work
Interpol seeks woman who ran elaborate exam cheating scam in Singapore
What is ChatGPT?
Tesla reported record profits and record revenues for 2022
Microsoft is finalising plans to become the latest technology giant to reduce its workforce during a global economic slowdown
Tesla slashes prices globally by as much as 20 percent
After Failing To Pay Office Rent, Twitter May Sell User Names
FTX fraud investigators are digging deeper into Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle – and reportedly have ex-engineer Nishad Singh in their sights
TikTok CEO Plans to Meet European Union Regulators
U.S. Moves to Seize Robinhood Shares, Silvergate Accounts Tied to FTX
Coinbase to Pay $100 Million in Settlement With New York Regulator
×