Tag: scheme’
€2.9m research fellowship scheme to tackle challenges in food and health
The APC Microbiome fellowship is aimed at experienced researchers and could potentially impact the pharma, medical and food sectors.
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Braverman defends Rwanda deportation plan after court rules scheme is lawful
Low-deposit mortgage scheme extended for a year
US Authorities Charge 8 Social Media Influencers In Securities Fraud Scheme
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it has filed related civil charges against the defendants in the scheme, claiming that seven of the defendants used Twitter and Discord to boost stocks. It said the eighth was charged with aiding and abetting the scheme with his podcast. The individuals charged were Texas residents Edward Constantinescu, Perry Matlock, John Rybarczyk and Dan Knight, along with California residents Gary Deel and Tom Cooperman, Stefan Hrvatin of Miami and Mitchell Hennessey of Hoboken, New Jersey.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Eight charged in $114 million pump-and-dump stock scheme on Discord and Twitter
The US government just clamped down on a prominent online financial fraud. A federal grand jury and the Securities and Exchange Commission have charged eight men with allegedly operating a stock pump-and-dump scheme on Discord and Twitter between January 2020 and April 2022. They reportedly used their social media presences (including a combined 1.5 million Twitter followers) to artificially inflate the value of stocks, only to sell their shares without disclosing their plans. They made a $114 million profit off the campaign, the Justice Department said.
In addition to tweets, the group supposedly used a Discord server (Atlas Trading) to share misinformation about stocks. One participant, Daniel Knight, also co-hosted a podcast that apparently played a role in the fraud. He brought some of the others on his show and falsely portrayed them as experts, according to the SEC.
All eight are facing at least one charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Edward Constantinescu (aka Constantin), Perry “PJ” Matlock, John Rybarczyk, Gary Deel, Stefan Hrvatin, Tom Cooperman and Mitchell Hennessey are facing additional charges that revolve around securities fraud and (in Constantinescu’s case) unlawful monetary transactions. The SEC has further charged Knight with aiding and abetting the scheme.
The conspiracy and fraud charges carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for each count, while the transactions charge against Constantinescu carries a 10-year maximum. The SEC charges could add financial penalties, including disgorgement of the ill-gotten profits.
The nature of the manipulation isn’t surprising. The meme stock saga on Reddit showed that online communities can influence share prices in the right circumstances. However, the charges suggest a trend — fraudsters now see social media as a viable way to fool many investors with relatively little effort. Don’t be surprised if you see more cases like this going forward.
National Grid will not trigger power blackout prevention scheme tomorrow evening
London barber claimed thousands through Covid scheme then sent cash to fund sick terror group ISIS, court hears
A BARBER shop owner sent £25,000 to IS fighters in Syria after claiming thousands of pounds in Covid Bounce Back loans, a court heard.
Tarek Namouz, 43, is accused of sending at least seven payments between November 2020 and April 2021 to fund the terrorists.
![](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/mail_cnl_Tarek_Namouzjpg-JS730400422-1.jpg?strip=all&w=368)
Namouz had received grant relief from his local council — Hammersmith and Fulham in West London.
When police raided his Boss Crew Barbers shop in Olympia, West London, in May last year they found £3,000 cash and a hidden phone containing messages to a contact in Syria, an IS bomb-making video and footage showing how to kill with a knife.
In the months before his arrest, he made seven transfers totalling £11,280 to a man named Yahya Ahmed Alia in Syria, where Namouz had lived until he was 14.
Kingston crown court heard that during a bugged conversation with a friend who was visiting him in prison, Namouz told him he had sent £25,000 to Syria.
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The jury were told he sent cash to a former IS member who used it to buy sniper rifles and said he wanted to establish a base for 30 fighters.
Namouz said the £3,000 found by police was “from the government and from work money”.
Prosecutor John McGuinness KC told the jury: “He was in receipt of Covid loans and said he mixed the two together.’’
Namouz denies funding IS and possessing terrorist videos.
The trial continues.
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Council’s ‘woke’ £500K scheme to scrap parking spaces for cycle hangars leaves drivers fuming
FUMING residents have blasted a council’s “woke” £500,000 scheme to scrap parking spaces to make way for new cycle hangars.
Drivers say the plans to create 150 hangars will mean they are unable to park outside their homes despite paying £60 to £385 per year for a permit.
![](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/j99btg-green-metal-bike-shed-777561445.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Fuming drivers say the plans to create 150 hangars will mean they are unable to park outside[/caption]
They claim some of the cycle units, which store six bikes at £60 each per year — so making up to £360 — have been placed in the middle of car permit spaces by the Green council in Brighton and Hove.
Ellie Reid, 34, of Brighton, said: “These hangars are a cynical ploy to raise more cash for council coffers.
“It is a perfect example of yet another pet project by our woke Green council that doesn’t make sense.”
Hove resident Laura King said: “This seems to be another weapon in the Greens’ aim to push motorists out of the city.
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“These hangars are too large for the parking spaces, making them unsafe for pedestrians, especially wheelchair users and the visually impaired.”
Brighton and Hove City Council plans to create 150 cycle hangars by 2023, creating 900 bike spaces.
Councillor Steve Davis said: “Cycle hangars provide people in homes with little or no space an opportunity to store bikes safely.”
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Elon Musk ignored Twitter’s internal warnings about his paid verification scheme
![Elon Musk illustration](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RYNuVbg7XrbYRUT-K8Jc4ywbym0=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71628861/STK171_VRG_Illo_4_Normand_ElonMusk_04.0.jpg)
Employees and advertisers keep telling him about the risks of the changes he’s making to Twitter — but he’s not listening