Mass Man Who Made Millions Manipulating Stocks Must Repay Money, Serve House Arrest: Feds

A Chinese national who lives in Weymouth that investigators said led a group of traders accused of making more than $37 million through a stock manipulation scheme must repay the money he bilked, federal authorities announced.

Jiali Wang pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit market manipulation earlier this year, federal authorities said.
Photo Credit: *Unsplash/Nicholas Cappello*

Josh Lanier

12/02/2022 4:02 p.m.

Jiali Wang, 44, was sentenced this week to time served (three months in prison) and nine months of house arrest, and he must forfeit $7.75 million in illicit proceeds from the scam after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud earlier this year, the US Attorney's Office said.

The Security and Exchanges Commission alleged that Wang led 17 other traders — mostly Chinese nationals — in a less-than-sophisticated system to alter the price of stocks in the US and China from 2013 through at least 2018. The traders would issue several fake sell orders on thinly traded securities to drive down the price. When the cost was low enough, they would buy a large amount of the stock and cancel the manipulative orders, the SEC said.

When they wanted to sell the stock, Wang had the traders "flip the script" and issue several fake buy orders to drive the price up before they unloaded it, the SEC said in a release.

Wang faced up to 30 years in prison after federal authorities charged him with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit market manipulation in May.

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