Robert Walter Murray, Securities Fraud, New York 2016
A brazen scheme to manipulate Fitbit stock has landed a Virginia man in hot water. Robert Walter Murray, a 24-year-old resident of Chesapeake, Virginia, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to securities fraud.
Murray conducted the scheme in November 2016, filing a sham tender offer with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that falsely reported another entity had made a bid to purchase all outstanding Fitbit stock at a significant premium to the then-existing market price.
The sham tender offer resulted in a temporary but significant increase in the price of Fitbit stock, allowing Murray to sell for a profit options he had previously purchased. The temporary inflation in Fitbit's market capitalization topped $100 million.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim praised the work of the Office's criminal investigators and thanked the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission for their assistance.
Murray faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $5 million. He has agreed to forfeit proceeds of the offense and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Katherine B. Forrest on March 9, 2018.
The case is being handled by the Office's Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, with Assistant United States Attorney Robert Allen in charge of the prosecution.
Murray's scheme was uncovered after he created a separate email account to register with the SEC and to file the sham tender offer, taking care to disguise his actual IP address when accessing it.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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