Have makers of fake-trading bots ever been punished, and how?

"The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accuses defendants John B. Wilson and JBW Capital LLC (JBW), of civil violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA)."

"The CFTC alleges that Wilson (and JBW, see § 2(a)(1)(B) of the CEA) violated 7 U.S.C. §§ 6m(l), 6b(a)(2)(C)(i)-(iii), 6b(a)(2)(A)-(C),"

"The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against three companies purporting to be market makers and nine individuals for engaging in schemes to manipulate the markets for various crypto assets being offered and sold as securities to retail investors. As alleged, the schemes were intended to induce investor victims to purchase the crypto assets by creating the false appe"

"The SEC alleged that ZM Quant and its employees Baijun Ou and Ruiqi Lau, Gotbit and its employee Fedor Kedrov, and CLS Global and its employee Andrey Zhorzhes manipulated markets on behalf of the Promoters by self-trading (commonly referred to as “wash trading”) on popular crypto asset trading platforms or by engaging in other trading practices that likewise served no economic purpose, and that th"

"The SEC’s five complaints, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, allege that all defendants violated the antifraud and market manipulation provisions of the securities laws and that certain defendants violated registration provisions."

"The complaints seek permanent injunctions, conduct-based injunctions, disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains plus interest, and civil penalties against all the defendants, as well as officer and director bars against certain defendants."

"Armand, Hernandez, and Pham consented to bifurcated settlements, subject to court approval, permanently enjoining them from further violations of the federal securities laws, subjecting them to conduct-based injunctions, and barring them from acting as officers or directors."

"Market manipulation, including wash trading to fabricate volume and coordinated schemes to move thin markets."

"Every state maintains its own securities authority with its own enforcement powers, and state actions in this sector have continued through the federal shift."

"While most areas saw declines, insider trading and market manipulation actions increased compared to FY 2024."

"Across FY 2025, the Commission emphasized “bread and butter” priorities: insider trading, accounting and disclosure fraud, market manipulation, and advisers’ fiduciary breaches."

"U.S. federal prosecutors in Boston have filed criminal charges against Gotbit and several other financial companies for their involvement in market manipulation and wash trading in the cryptocurrency industry."

"The CFTC has pursued enforcement actions relating to fraud and manipulation involving crypto assets and crypto markets."

"The SEC also alleged as part of its June 5, 2023, complaint against Binance Holdings Ltd. that Binance committed strategic and targeted “wash trading” through its affiliates to artificially inflate the volume of certain digital assets traded on its exchange."

"The SEC has also brought actions against individuals and digital asset market participants alleging such persons artificially increased trading volumes in certain digital assets through wash trades, or repeated buying and selling of the same assets in fictitious transactions to manipulate their underlying trading price."

"The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed parallel charges against Gotbit and other market makers, seeking civil penalties for manipulating the markets of various crypto assets."

"Because the CFTC has determined that bitcoin is a “commodity” under the CEA and the rules thereunder, it has jurisdiction to prosecute fraud and manipulation in the cash, or spot, market for bitcoin."

"The SEC has also brought recent actions against individuals and digital asset market participants alleging that such persons artificially increased trading volumes in certain digital assets through “wash trades”, or repeated buying and selling of the same assets in fictitious transactions to manipulate their underlying trading price."

"Andryunin was arrested in Portugal and awaits extradition to the U.S."

"One of the more innovative aspects of the investigation was the role of the FBI, which created its own Ethereum-based token, NextFundAI , as part of the probe to uncover and stop fraudulent activity."

"The potential penalties for those involved are severe, with market manipulation charges carrying up to 20 years in prison, fines of up to $5 million, or even double the profits made from the fraudulent activities."