Etc.,
Even if his last trade was in January, he might very well have some kind of position as of the date of publication of his "article," so that it made some change for him, at least on paper. Given that, and that he was an employee, his attorney is going to have a hard time proving he did not have some monetary interest -- even if indirect -- in pulling off his hoax. I'm no expert on fraud, either, but this looks awfully close, and it should be hard to duck behind first amendment rights when the greater good of society is weighed against them.
Further, in using surrounding ads and text to make his page look the real one, and in using links he was not authorized to use, he likely violated some kind of copyright law, no matter where the page was located.
Again, I'm no expert, but I think he's toast. As a first offender, he'd probably get a bunch of community service. Let's hope it changes him for the better and deters similarly inclined folks.
Cheers, Tuck |
