US government charges 8 social media influencers over alleged pump-and-dump scheme

Key Facts

The alleged scheme dated back to at least January 2020 and involved a nationwide network of participants, including four of the defendants who reside in Texas; two in California; one in New Jersey and one in Florida.
The podcaster named in the case allegedly also engaged in the illicit trading scheme and promoted the other defendants as expert traders, according to the SEC.
The SEC’s complaint calls for the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas to impose fines and to require that the defendants give up their allegedly ill-gotten gains, along with a ban on future misconduct.
The alleged scheme was active until about April of this year, according to a Justice Department release, and resulted in at least $114 million in profits.