‘Finfluencers’ Suspected of Fraud Over $100 Million in US

Eight US-based financial influencers are suspected of conspiracy and stock price manipulation. That would have earned them over $100 million.

The men presented themselves as successful traders and inflated the stock prices. On their Discord and Twitter platform, Atlas Trading, they spread fabricated positive information about each stock and after the price rose sharply, they sold their own shares. Banned were so-called ‘pump-and-dump’ tactics, which were done without informing followers.

The US Department of Justice and the US Financial Markets Regulatory Commission (SEC) have identified eight people. Sued. According to prosecutors, the influencers “used their social media credibility to increase profits at the expense of their followers”.

Seven of them have been charged with securities fraud, and the eighth is considered an accomplice. Conspiracy to commit securities fraud carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison in the United States.

Fininfluencers, aged between 23 and 38, currently have 1.6 million followers on Twitter. Edward Constantine, known as MrZackMorris on Twitter, has the most followers by far (almost 550,000). Constantine was the only person to respond on Twitter after the indictment.

“I love myself The homies Here,” he writes: