{"id":51614,"date":"2022-12-14T09:56:39","date_gmt":"2022-12-14T17:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51614"},"modified":"2022-12-14T09:58:26","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T17:58:26","slug":"eight-indicted-for-allegedly-operating-114-million-securities-fraud-via-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51614","title":{"rendered":"Eight Indicted for Allegedly Operating $114 Million Securities Fraud via Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"node-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-6759 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Department-of-Justice-300x197.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Department-of-Justice-300x197.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Department-of-Justice-90x60.jpg 90w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Department-of-Justice.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Officials stated that a federal grand jury in Texas returned an unsealed indictment Tuesday, charging eight men with conspiracy to commit securities fraud for a long-running, social media-based \u201cpump and dump\u201d scheme.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-pr-body field--type-text-long field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">According to court documents,<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"> Edward Constantinescu, aka Constantin, 38, of Montgomery, Texas; Perry \u201cPJ\u201d Matlock, 38, of The Woodlands, Texas; John Rybarczyk, 32, of Spring, Texas; Gary Deel, 28, of Beverly Hills, California; Stefan Hrvatin, 35, of Miami, Florida; Tom Cooperman, 34, of Beverly Hills, California; Mitchell Hennessey, 23, of Hoboken, New Jersey; and, Dan Knight, 23, of Houston, Texas, allegedly engaged in a wide-ranging securities fraud conspiracy<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-51585 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/billy-ujpmmc5z1pg-unsplash-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"tufted black chairs inside building with no people\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/billy-ujpmmc5z1pg-unsplash-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/billy-ujpmmc5z1pg-unsplash-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/billy-ujpmmc5z1pg-unsplash-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/billy-ujpmmc5z1pg-unsplash-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/billy-ujpmmc5z1pg-unsplash-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">The defendants allegedly used their extensive social media presence on Twitter and Discord to hype interest in particular securities by posting false and misleading information to \u201cpump\u201d the prices of those securities, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">The defendants concealed their intent to later \u201cdump\u201d their shares by selling them at artificially inflated prices. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">From January 2020 to April 2022, the defendants profited at least approximately $114 million from their scheme.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u201cSecurities fraud victimizes innocent investors and undermines the integrity of our public markets,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department\u2019s Criminal Division. \u201cAs these charges demonstrate, the department will continue to prosecute those who defraud investors by spreading false and misleading information, including over social media, to line their own pockets.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-50618 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/3410923-300x207.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"207\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/3410923-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/3410923-1024x706.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/3410923-768x529.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/3410923.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>According to the indictment, the defendants collectively had over 1.5 million followers on Twitter to whom they allegedly disseminated false and misleading information about the securities that they pumped and dumped as part of the charged scheme.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"> In addition to their Twitter presence, the defendants also allegedly ran an online community for individual stock traders called Atlas Trading<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/photo-by-nick-chong\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-51616\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-51616 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/n__bnvq_w18-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"black flat screen computer monitor\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/n__bnvq_w18-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/n__bnvq_w18-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/n__bnvq_w18-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/n__bnvq_w18-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/n__bnvq_w18.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>The defendants were promoted as one of the largest, free online communities in the world for individual stock traders and had a chatroom called Atlas Trading Discord. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">The defendants also allegedly used Atlas Trading Discord to disseminate false information about securities they pumped and dumped as part of the charged scheme.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u201cWe are committed to protecting the investing public from market manipulation schemes, regardless of how they are carried out,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. \u201cAs some use advances in technology and social media to prey upon the public, our office will be on the cutting edge of prosecuting this area of fraud.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">According to the indictment, the defendants allegedly used the following aliases on Twitter and Discord to perpetuate the scheme:<\/span><\/p>\n<table width=\"546\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"174\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><b>Defendant<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"162\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><b>Twitter Handle<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><b>Discord Handle<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"174\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Edward Constantinescu<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"162\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">@MrZackMorris<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Zack Morris#0001<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"174\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Perry \u201cPJ\u201d Matlock<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"162\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">@PJ_Matlock<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">PJ Matlock#0001<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"174\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">John Rybarczyk<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"162\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">@Ultra_Calls<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Ultra#0374<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"174\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Gary Deel<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"162\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">@notoriousalerts<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Mystic Mac [emoji of a four-leaf clovr]#7345<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"174\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Stefan Hrvatin<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"162\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">@LadeBackk<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Lade Backk#6083<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"174\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Tom Cooperman<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"162\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">@ohheytommy<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">TOMMY COOPS #5323<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"174\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Mitchell Hennessey<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"162\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">@Hugh_Henne<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">HOODHUGHBEAR[emoji of an ox]#4034<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"174\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Daniel Knight<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"162\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">@DipDeity<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\">\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Dan, Deity of Dips#8114<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">The indictment stated that the defendants used their social media credibility to maximize their own profits at the expense of their followers, holding themselves out as skilled stock traders by posting pictures showcasing their profits and extravagant lifestyles, and encouraging people to follow them on social media in order to share in their financial gains.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14844 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FBI-Logo-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FBI-Logo-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FBI-Logo-45x35.jpg 45w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FBI-Logo.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\u201cCorporate fraud remains a priority for the FBI as it victimizes investors and erodes public confidence in the securities markets,\u201d said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI\u2019s Criminal Investigative Division. \u201cThe FBI and our law enforcement partners remain committed to identifying, investigating, and pursuing those who seek to undermine the U.S. financial market and investors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">All defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-6172 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/FBI-Insider-Trading-300x228.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"228\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/FBI-Insider-Trading-300x228.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/FBI-Insider-Trading-45x35.jpg 45w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/FBI-Insider-Trading.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Additionally, Constantin is charged with three counts of securities fraud and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity; Matlock and Deel are both charged with five counts of securities fraud; Rybarczyk is charged with four counts of securities fraud; and Hrvatin, Cooperman, and Hennessey are each charged with two counts of securities fraud.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">The defendants made their initial court appearances yesterday. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">The FBI Houston Field Office is investigating the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Assistant Chief Scott Armstrong, Trial Attorney John J. Liolos of the Criminal Division\u2019s Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas \u201cHeyward\u201d Carter III for the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">If you believe you are a victim in this case, please contact the Fraud Section\u2019s Victim Witness Unit toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or by email at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov. You are also encouraged to visit our webpage for this case at https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/criminal-vns\/case\/united-states-v-constantinescu-et-al.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Officials stated that a federal grand jury in Texas returned an unsealed indictment Tuesday, charging eight men with conspiracy to commit securities fraud for a long-running, social media-based \u201cpump and dump\u201d scheme&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3255,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-federal-court","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Eight 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