Four guilty of pump-and-dump spam scam

By Fiona Raisbeck on Sep 18, 2007 4:09 PM
Filed under Messaging

Gang pleads guilty to a pump-and-dump spam campaign that profited £10 million.

According to the US Department of Justice the scam started in 2004 when the gang, aged between 26 and 63, sent out bogus press releases about 15 small companies to boost the stock price. The stock was dumped once the price had risen netting more than US$20m in profits.

All four pleaded guilty to counts of fraud, with two of the men also pleading guilty to civil charges filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The men could each face up to ten years in prison when sentencing begins later in the year. Three other defendants have already been sentenced to between one and five years in prison.

four, guilty, pumpanddump, spam, scam

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