The SEC charges a 2nd person for allegedly manipulating Fitbit's stock price by announcing a fake acquisition offer
- The US Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against a second person in connection with a fake takeover offer for Fitbit made in 2016.
- A non-existent company called ABM Capital posted on the SEC's Edgar portal that it had made an offer to buy Fitbit shares at a premium.
- According to the SEC's complaint, Mark E. Burns earned a 350% profit of about $13,000 on call options he bought just before the filing was published.
- Watch Fitbit trade in realtime here
The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday said it filed fraud charges a second person in connection with an alleged manipulation of Fitbit's stock price.
In November 2016, a company called ABM Capital filed a takeover offer for Fitbit on the SEC's Edgar portal, proposing to buy the company's shares at a premium. The purported company did not exist, however, and Fitbit confirmed at the time that it had not received offers from any companies.
Fitbit shares spiked shortly after the fake offer was released. The SEC's complaint alleged that Mark E. Burns bought Fitbit call options before Robert W. Murray allegedly posted the buyout offer on Edgar. The call options, designed to profit from a stock's rise without owning the actual shares, earned Burns a 350% profit of about $13,000 after he sold them, the SEC alleged.
Fitbit shares were down more than 2% in trading on Thursday. The stock has gained 18% this year.