A Mashpee man has been handed a prison sentence for his part in manipulating the stock market, particularly involving shares of Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (Getty Images). Robert Scott Murray, a former CEO and venture investment company manager, was sentenced to 10 months in prison with an additional two years of supervised release, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office. He was also ordered to pay forfeiture of $227,543.
Investigations revealed that Murray, through his firm Trillium Capital LLC, attempted to force Getty Images to overhaul its business strategy and place himself on the board of directors. When these efforts failed, he resorted to a fraudulent tactic to boost the company's stock price and sell his own shares for a profit. On April 24, 2023, having caused the publication of a misleading press release announcing a bogus acquisition bid for Getty Images at "$10 per share," shares escalated nearly 56 percent on the opening bell, according to a press release fromm the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Subsequently, Murray sold all his shares within an hour for approximately $1.5 million, which included an overvalue of more than $227,000 above their fair market price. Post-sale, Murray continued to maintain the farce.
Further probing into Murray's actions brought to light attempts at obstructing the investigation, including instructing an acquaintance to delete potentially incriminating text messages. In a statement reflecting the careless way evidence was to be discarded, Murray likened the texts to "virginity, once you delete your virginity you ain’t getting it back," as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) followed suit with a civil complaint against Murray for infringements of the securities laws. The combined efforts of the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), with assistance from the SEC, culminated in Murray's conviction. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham led the prosecution of the case.
