In 2012 we 1st took a look at the SEC enforcement action against AutoChina International for market manipulation. Roughly two (2) years later, the SEC has obtained its first judgments against the company and its principal executive officer in this case.
Tag: autochina international
AutoChina International, Ltd. was a U.S. publicly traded company that was charged along with eleven investors by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 11, 2012 with having conducted a market manipulation scheme to create the false appearance of a liquid and active market for the company’s shares. According to the complaint, AutoChina and the other defendants engaged in the scheme after lenders offered AutoChina unfavorable terms for a stock-backed loan due to low trading volume in its stock.
Market Manipulation and “Noneconomical Trading”
Coral Capital Partners looks at a SEC Enforcement Action for market manipulation and non-economical trading. This is an extremely interesting look at the manipulation of the public market for a micro-cap company’s common stock, how it was accomplished, and the penalties imposed. We also look at the SEC ‘s definition of these types of market manipulation and where they run afoul of the Exchange Act of 1934. This blog and the associated SEC Litigation Release and Complaint filed in Federal Court provide a very interesting read.