SEC charges crew of social media influencers with $100m fraud

Eight braggadocious social media influencers fond of posing next to sportscars are facing charges from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DoJ), who claim they manipulated their 1.5 million followers in order to help themselves to $100 million in "fraudulent profits." The suspects, all …

[KittenHuffer]

And of course ....

.... they'll all be found guilty. The $100m will be taken away from them as fines. And will then be redistributed to the poor 'suckers' that it was effectively stolen from ..... NOT!

The SEC will fine them and keep the money!

[Pascal Monett]

Re: And of course ....

Well they are guilty.

"We’re robbing f*cking idiots of their money"

And there goes the "it was just for laughs" defense.

You forgot the cardinal rule of making money : shut the fuck up about how you're doing it.

Tossers.

[abetancort]

Re: And of course ....

Not really, if the suckers present a class action lawsuit against them they will recoup part of the losses until they make those pariahs are bankrupt.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: And of course ....

Yes, they'll get a check for 38 cents each, while the lawyers get millions. The lead plaintiffs may get most of their hundred bucks back.

[nintendoeats]

Good

Sometimes I catch a glimpse of people promoting specific types of trading on youtube, and it's the sketchiest thing. They are targetting people who trust them, and who do not have the tools to understand the risks and potential for manipulation. That's not a criticism of the victims; I also do not have most of those tools because I ALSO learned most of what I know about the finance industry from youtube.

[Rikki Tikki]

Re: Good

Nintendo eats:

Agreed: I am also wary of YouTube videos, after all, if the creators were that good at making money, they wouldn't need to post on YouTube, they'd be quietly getting on with the job. The same goes for other online "finfluencers": it's not a good idea blindly to trust anyone.

And it's always good to keep in mind the words of Nicolas Boileau: "ce que l'on conçoit bien, s'énonce clairement", iotw if they really understood what they were talking about, they would be able to explain it well.

Oh, and upvoted for honesty and humility.

[JimC]

Re: Good

When presented with any financial opportunity I like to ask the question "So why are they offering me this instead of just doing it and making the income themselves! So far I don't think I've ever found an answer. Maybe I've missed some wonderful opportunities, but I sure as hell haven't lost anything!

[Grunchy]

Aw, nuts!

I thought for sure that jackass Doug DeMuro would be involved, but alas.

This episode reminds me of the time the Donald Himself thought he could turn an easy buck with his patented “Trump’s Pump & Dump”, except that, being fundamentally an idiot, he managed to lose a fortune on the scheme.

It’s all here:

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-corporate-raider-stock-prices-tax-returns-1418843

[yetanotheraoc]

Re: Aw, nuts!

With Trump, you can never be sure. Did he lose a fortune? Or did he lose a fortune for tax purposes?

Harder told The Times its reporting about the president's tax returns and business dealings was "demonstrably false" and "highly inaccurate."

Because Trump doesn't make it easy to get at the truth....

[DS999]

Re: Aw, nuts!

If anything has become clear over the past 7 years, it is that anytime Trump or one of his lawyers strongly denies something, that something is the pure unvarnished truth.

[Azamino]

Little new in this world

You have to wonder how many of their audience were in on the act, ie hoping to buy and sell to a bigger idiot before the bubble burst?

[abetancort]

Re: Little new in this world

But riding the wave is not illegal as you are not pumping the stock. Without insider info from the main conspirators it is usually a losing strategy anyways.

[ComputerSays_noAbsolutelyNo]

Democratizing market manipulation

Cause for celebration?

-> Desperately trying to find a reason for having a cold-one way prior to beer o'clock

[TimMaher]

Re: prior to beer o’clock.

It’s always beer o’clock somewhere.

[chivo243]

Gun, Fish, Barrel

Social media channels are the barrel...

[Anonymous Coward]

Early lesson understood and applied

When trading, never act on tips or personal recommendations.

Never.

Research, research, research.

[David Pearce]

I wonder how many others are less stupid and don't get recorded and caught

[Al fazed]

ho hum

Not much of an IT angle then........

ALF

[Roj Blake]

Piers Morgan

It reminds me of what Piers Morgan used to (allegedly) get up to at the Daily Mirror.