SEC Targets Atlas Trading Founders for Alleged Twitter and Discord Scam
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SEC Charges Atlas Trading Founders
According to the SEC, the gang ran a fraudulent plan to defraud investors for nearly three years, during which time they allegedly made around $100 million. Edward Constantin, also known as @MrZackMorris on Twitter, and Perry Matlock, also known as @PJ Matlock on Twitter, the two founders of Atlas Trading, are reported to have plotted with several other people to artificially inflate the trading volumes of small-cap firms.
The SEC claims in the lawsuit, which was submitted late on Tuesday to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, that the gang presented themselves as stock-picking experts to their vast number of followers on Twitter and Discord. The 236,000-member Atlas Trading Discord community frequently included discussions and advertisements about cryptocurrency and NFT trading.
Accusations by SEC
The SEC's accusations that people are using social media to promote dangerous or flawed investments have been made at a time when social media and the press are blazing with talk of the terrible collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, even though the lawsuit focuses specifically on accusations of marketing small-capital equities. Sam Bankman-Fried, the company's creator, has frequently utilized Twitter to discuss investment in cryptocurrencies, like many other influential figures in the industry.
According to the Atlas Trading lawsuit filed with the SEC, Constantin and Matlock operated in a long-running plan to mislead consumers online with the assistance of Thomas Cooperman, Gary Deel, Mitchell Hennessey, Stefan Hrvatin, John Rybarcyzk, and podcast host Daniel Knight.