Judge tosses SEC suit against social media influencers in alleged pump-and-dump scheme

A federal judge has dismissed an indictment against several individuals accused of running a stock manipulation scheme on Twitter. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) did not provide enough evidence to support their claim that the influencers engaged in a ‘scheme to defraud.’ The lawsuit alleged that the defendants used the messaging app Discord to promote certain stocks to their large following and then sold their positions once the stock prices increased. The judge stated that while the defendants may have intended to separate followers from their money, there was insufficient evidence to prove securities fraud or conspiracy to commit fraud. The SEC has the option to amend and refile the charges.