Four individuals have pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges in connection with a coordinated “pump and dump” scheme conducted via the Telegram messaging app, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced today.
Guilty Pleas Secured By ASIC in Telegram ‘Pump and Dump’ Action
The scheme involved artificially inflating Australian share prices before selling them at inflated values.
ASIC said Larissa Quinlan, Kurt Stuart, Emma Summer, and Syed Yusuf all entered guilty pleas in the Downing Centre Local Court to conspiracy to commit market rigging and dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Ms. Quinlan, Mr. Stuart, and Ms. Summer reportedly participated in the market rigging conspiracy between August and September 2021, with Mr. Yusuf joining in September 2021.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine exceeding $1 million.
ASIC alleges the defendants formed a private Telegram group to select “penny stocks” for promotion in public groups such as the “ASX Pump and Dump Group.”
The regulator explained that over three weeks in September 2021, nine announcements were made to artificially boost stock prices, allowing the defendants to sell their shares after the price had substantially increased.
ASIC Chair Joe Longo welcomed the guilty pleas. “ASIC takes breaches of the market manipulation rules very seriously and as demonstrated in this matter, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action where appropriate,” he stated.
