NEW YORK — An Ohio trader in penny stocks has been arrested on charges alleging he repeatedly lied to over 70,000 Twitter followers to earn over $1 million illegally in what authorities are calling a new twist on an old stock manipulation game.
Steven Gallagher of Maumee, Ohio, was charged Tuesday in New York federal court with securities fraud, wire fraud and market manipulation.
He was arrested in Ohio.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams says Gallagher put a new spin on old-school boiler room tactics.
Williams calls it a social media pump-and-dump scheme.
It was not immediately clear who would represent Gallagher at an initial court appearance in Ohio.
