The operator of a purported “meme stock” Ponzi scheme in the U.S. has been sentenced to prison on wire fraud charges.
In January, Carl Channing Spence pled guilty to charges arising from his operation of AEI Financial, between January 2022 and August 2023, which solicited investors by allegedly promising returns from trading so-called “meme stocks.”
U.S. authorities alleged that Spence diverted investors’ funds for his own use, and paid returns to earlier investors from money provided by new investors. It was also alleged that he created false account statements, which showed successful results that he used to solicit further investments.
The scheme took in approximately US$2.1 million from investors, U.S. authorities said.
In a U.S. district court in Texas, Spence has now been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.