Investors Hub Founder Pleads Guilty

Matthew Brown, founder of the Investors Hub website, pleaded guilty this week to securities fraud for his role in pump-and-dump schemes involving four different penny stocks, StockWatch has reported. Together with six other defendants, StockWatch said, Brown allegedly manipulated the stocks through “prearranged trades that were timed to coincide with misleading news and posts on Investors Hub” and then dumped the inflated shares.

According to U.S. authorities, StockWatch said, the group pocketed more than $6 million in illicit profits as a result of the complex scheme. One of Brown’s codefendants, Gerard D’Amaro, is expected to plead guilty to similar charges next month, StockWatch said. Four others – Joseph Mangiapane, Pawel Dynkowski, Marc Riviello and Jacob Canceli – have pleaded not guilty, StockWatch said, while a fifth – Pawel Dynkowski – has yet to enter a plea in the case at all. Brown could have faced up to 50 years in prison for his own role in the scam, StockWatch noted, but he expects to receive a lighter sentence in exchange for his guilty plea.