SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v EDWARD CONSTANTIN, a/k/a “MrZackMorris,” a/k/a “Edward Constantinescu,” PERRY MATLOCK, a/k/a “PJ Matlock,” THOMAS COOPERMAN, a/k/a “Tommy Coops,” GARY DEEL, a/k/a “Mystic Mac,” MITCHELL HENNESSEY, a/k/a “Hugh Henne,” STEFAN HRVATIN, a/k/a “LadeBackk,” DANIEL KNIGHT, a/k/a “Deity of Dips,” and JOHN RYBARCYZK, a/k/a “Ultra Calls,” a/k/a “The Stock Sniper,”
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SUMMARY
1. To their legions of followers on social media, the eight defendants have, for years, promoted themselves as trustworthy stock-picking gurus. In reality, they are seasoned stock manipulators. They identify stocks ripe for manipulation, acquire substantial positions in these securities, and then recommend those stocks as good investments to their followers on Twitter, in online stock-trading forums they run, and on podcasts. They encourage their followers to purchase the selected stocks, often claiming that they likewise have bought or intend to buy these stocks for themselves and hold them. Instead, the defendants sell their shares into the demand that their deceptive promotions generate.
2. Seven of the defendants—Perry Matlock, Edward Constantin, Thomas Cooperman, Gary Deel, Mitchell Hennessey, Stefan Hrvatin, and John Rybarcyzk—carried out the scheme, coordinating the acquisition of shares, promoting the shares to their followers, and dumping the shares for substantial profits. They were aided and abetted by Daniel Knight, who with Hennessey, co-hosted a popular stock-trading podcast that promoted the other defendants as expert traders and provided a platform for other defendants to deceptively promote the stocks they intended to dump.
3. From at least January 2020 through present (the “Relevant Period”), the eight Defendants earned approximately $100 million from this stock-manipulation scheme.
Full Complaint: storage.courtlistener.com
- Jeff |
