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A California-based trader is facing fraud charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegedly profiting from trades that followed a series of false tweets about a defunct penny stock.

The SEC filed fraud charges and obtained an emergence asset freeze order against Andrew Fassari, alleging that he tweeted false statements under his Twitter handle, @OCMillionaire, about Nevada-based Arcis Resources Corp. (ARCS) “while secretly profiting by selling his own holdings of the company’s stock.”

The allegations have not been proven.

According to the regulator’s complaint, the SEC alleged that Fassari began purchasing over 41 million shares of ARCS in early December 2020, and then began tweeting false information about the defunct company, “including falsely claiming that ARCS was reviving its operations, expanding its business, and being backed by ‘huge’ investors.”

The SEC said that the company’s stock jumped as much as 4,000% in the wake of the tweets, and that “Fassari allegedly sold all his shares … for profits of over US$929,000, all while continuing to publish false and misleading information about ARCS and his trading in ARCS.”

The SEC is seeking a permanent injunction, disgorgement, prejudgment interest and a civil penalty from Fassari. It has also issued an order temporarily suspending trading in ARCS securities.

“We allege that Fassari profited by using social media to deceive investors,” said Melissa Hodgman, acting director of the SEC’s enforcement division. “The SEC is committed to protecting investors by proactively monitoring suspicious trading activity tied to social media, and by charging those who use social media to violate the federal securities laws.”