Investing

SEC Freezes Assets in UK-Trader Intrusion Scheme

Chris Lange

Published: June 23, 2016 12:20 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 6:27 am

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced that it had obtained an emergency court order to freeze the assets of a U.K. resident charged with intruding into the online brokerage accounts of U.S. investors to make unauthorized stock trades that allowed him to profit on trades in his own account.

In the report filed in U.S. District Court, the agency alleged that in April and May, Idris Dayo Mustapha hacked into numerous accounts of U.S. customers of broker-dealers in and outside the United States. It further alleged that Mustapha placed stock trades without the customers’ knowledge and then traded in the same stocks through his own brokerage account.

In one case, Mustapha allegedly hacked into a brokerage account and rapidly purchased shares at increasing prices and then profited by selling his own shares of the stock in his brokerage account. According to the complaint, the scheme made at least $68,000 in profits and resulted in losses in the victims’ accounts of at least $289,000.

Robert Cohen, co-chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Market Abuse Unit, commented:

We will swiftly track down hackers who prey on investors as we allege Mustapha did, no matter where they are operating from and no matter how sophisticated their technology.

The SEC obtained an emergency court order that froze over $100,000 in Mustapha’s assets and prohibits Mustapha from destroying evidence.

The SEC alleged that Mustapha violated the antifraud provisions of federal securities laws and a related SEC antifraud rule. In addition to the emergency relief, the agency is seeking permanent injunctions, return of allegedly ill-gotten gains with interest, and financial penalties.