Federal Court Sentences False EDGAR Filer to Prison for Securities Manipulation
Commentary by Steven Lofchie
An individual from Virginia was sentenced to two years in prison for filing false information through the SEC public database ("EDGAR") in order to manipulate the price of certain issuer securities.
In the case before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Robert W. Murray pled guilty to manipulating the price of Fitbit, Inc. ("Fitbit") securities. Mr. Murray accessed EDGAR by purporting to be a sham Chinese company, and took steps to disguise his identity and his internet protocol address. Mr. Murray filed a fake tender offer for Fitbit under the name of the sham company. The offer was made at a substantial premium to Fitbit's stock price, driving up the value of the shares. Mr. Murray then sold his Fitbit options.
Mr. Murray pled guilty to one count of securities fraud on November 7, 2017. On March 9, 2018, he was sentenced to two years of imprisonment.
The SEC previously filed a civil action against Mr. Murray for the same misconduct, which was stayed pending the results of the criminal case. According to the SEC, Mr. Murray sold his Fitbit options for a profit of $3,118.
Commentary
A lot of work and two years' time for ,118 - on which he would have had to pay taxes.