Australian Financial Regulator Charges Four Suspects for "Pump and Dump" Securities Scam

The Australian Securities and Exchange Commission (ASIC) has charged four suspects with securities fraud.

ASIC believes that the four defendants conspired to commit a "pump and dump" scam. They manipulated market prices and engaged in false trading. The price of shares was deliberately inflated by artificial means and then sold at the high price.

According to ASIC, the defendants Syed Yusuf, Larissa Quinlan, Emma Summer and Kurt Stuart formed a private group on Telegram called the "ASX Pump and Dump Group", where they posted the names of stocks they had selected after discussions.

The suspects could face up to 15 years in prison and millions in fines for market manipulation.

ASIC chairman Joe Longo said, "Market manipulation is illegal. Pump and dump schemes are a form of financial fraud, eroding investor wealth, threatening the integrity of our markets and potentially the Australian economy more broadly"

ASIC monitors Australia's financial markets through a sophisticated real-time surveillance system, while integrating trade data provided by third parties to detect this kind of securities fraudulent activity.

In September 2021, ASIC issued nine announcements relating to Australian securities pump and dump, with suspects mentioned in the announcements were involved in this securities fraudulent activity. In October 2021, ASIC issued a warning to traders in the relevant telegram group that their manipulation of the share price could be a breach of the law.