Charges Laid in Alleged Telegram ‘Pump and Dump’ Conspiracy

Four individuals have been charged for their alleged roles in a coordinated scheme to inflate Australian stock values before selling them at elevated prices.

What’s Happening

Four individuals have been charged for their alleged roles in a coordinated scheme to inflate Australian stock values before selling them at elevated prices.

Syed Yusuf, Larissa Quinlan, Emma Summer, and Kurt Stuart have been charged with conspiracy to commit market rigging and false trading to artificially raise the prices of Australian shares before selling them.

The Crime

For market manipulation, they face a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine exceeding $1 million.

ASIC alleges that the defendants organised a private group on the Telegram app where they discussed and selected penny stocks to promote in a public Telegram group named the ‘ASX Pump and Dump Group.’

Also, the defendants are also charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime related to the money they obtained from selling the manipulated shares.

What They Said

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

What To Look For Next

This case is being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions following a referral from ASIC in December 2022.

The matter was adjourned to 30 July 2024 in the Downing Centre Local Court for a detention application to be made for each defendant.