Ten Charged in U.S. Over International Pump-and-Dump Scam (1)

Ten people from seven countries were charged with securities fraud in what U.S. authorities say was a long-running, pump-and-dump stock scam that generated more than $100 million in illicit profits.

The individuals manipulated and inflated the prices of shares in small publicly traded companies using promotional materials that contained false and misleading claims, and employed a “boiler room” of salesmen to solicit investors, according to a statement Thursday from Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

The scam spanned the globe, according to the U.S., with those charged living in Canada, U.K., Bulgaria, Spain, Monaco, Turkey and the Bahamas. Seven people ...