- South Korean court convicted 25 people in the country’s largest-ever stock manipulation scheme, exposing a sprawling operation that wiped out retail investor wealth.
- U.S. retail investors seized on Seoul’s verdict to demand investigations into market makers like Citadel and Virtu, calling for probes, hearings, and prosecutions.
A South Korean court dropped a bombshell yesterday, convicting 25 people in the country’s largest-ever stock manipulation scheme.
Prosecutors painted a picture of a sprawling operation that artificially pumped up share prices, wiping out billions from everyday investors’ pockets.
While the case stays firmly rooted in Korean markets—details on the ringleaders and tactics are still trickling out—it’s lit a fuse across the Pacific.
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Here in the U.S., retail investors are seizing the moment, blasting alarms about their own backyard.
For years, these savvy traders—think the same crew that turned GameStop and AMC into household names—have been hammering away at what they call systemic rigging by powerhouse market makers.
Now, with Seoul’s verdict fresh, voices are roaring louder than ever: Investigate Ken Griffin of Citadel Securities and Doug Cifu of Virtu Financial—now.
“It’s RICO-level organized white-collar crime and global financial terrorism,” fumed one trader on X, summing up the raw anger boiling over.
This poster, part of a four-year crusade documenting alleged abuses, tagged the SEC and Justice Department directly: “Millions of apes have spent the last 4 years… writing letters, sending emails, filing lawsuits, and even protesting in person.”
Why Griffin and Cifu? Retail folks point to Citadel and Virtu as the market-making behemoths accused of naked short-selling—flooding the market with shares they don’t own to crush prices—and other dark arts like payment for order flow shenanigans.
Griffin’s Citadel, the world’s biggest market maker, handles a mind-boggling 40% of U.S. retail trades. Cifu’s Virtu? Right there in the mix, with its own ongoing shareholder probe by former Louisiana AG Charles Kahn, sniffing for fiduciary breaches.
Banks Are Also Facing Scrutiny by U.S. Retail Investors
The calls aren’t stopping at these two. Big banks are in the crosshairs too. Traders want jail time for culprits at Goldman Sachs, Susquehanna, and others they say coordinate to steal from the little guy.
“They need to be investigated for market manipulation,” one X user blasted, pegging $90 billion “stolen” in October alone via firms like Wintermute.
This isn’t fringe noise. Back in March, reports surfaced of subpoenas hitting Griffin and Cifu’s outfits over naked shorting and manipulation.
Meme stock warriors have buried regulators in evidence, drawing parallels to Bernie Madoff—one guy who wrote letters for 12 years before the SEC woke up. “They can’t say they didn’t know!” echoes another post.
Global echoes amp the urgency. India’s slapped Jane Street with a ban for manipulation—and eyes are on Citadel, Virtu peers like IMC and Optiver expanding there anyway. Reddit deep dives even float RICO charges against naked short networks targeting GameStop, naming Griffin prominently.
What Are Regulators Doing?
Regulators? Crickets so far. Griffin himself has slammed the SEC over surveillance fees, while apes cry conflict—Citadel makes markets and bets against them via its hedge fund.
“Ken Griffin is on record saying market makers steer the price to where they think it should be,” one trader sniped. “Total conflict.”
As Seoul’s hammer falls, U.S. retail isn’t backing down. Congressional hearings? Jail for the suits? They’re demanding it all. With 65,000 families still chasing justice in cases like $MMTLP counterfeit shares, the pressure’s mounting.
Wall Street’s old guard better watch its back—this retail rebellion is just heating up.
Also Read: New Lawsuit Claims Wall Street Firms Suppressed Company’s Stock
