03:21 PM EDT, 05/31/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday charged former Stream Global Services and 3Com Chief Executive Robert Scott Murray with manipulating Getty Images' ( GETY ) sock.

The securities regulator said Murray and his company Trillium Capital made a "phony offer" in April 2023 to acquire Getty Images ( GETY ) even though they had no intention to do so. The announcement caused Getty's price to soar and Murray liquidated his holdings in the company even though Getty had yet to respond to the offer.

"Murray leveraged his professional credentials to orchestrate an old-fashioned pump-and-dump scheme," Mark Cave, Associate Director in the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said in a statement.

The SEC said Murray and Trillium had agreed to a number of steps to resolve its charges, including from participating or engaging in certain securities-related conduct. The defendants have also agreed to pay any court-mandated disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.

Meanwhile, in a separate release, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said it had also charged Murray with the scheme and his attempts to cover it up.

Murray agreed to plead guilty to the charges and will appear in a federal court in Boston at a later date, the Attorney's Office said.

Murray could face up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million for violating securities laws, the statement said.

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