Summary of this article
SEBI banned seven family members for stock manipulation.
Unregistered finfluencers made illegal profits of twenty crores.
Fraudsters used Telegram and WhatsApp for stock tips.
In 2025, the mainboard has seen a slowdown in fresh issues, while the Small and Medium Enterprises board has seen a massive rush of retail investors looking for investment opportunities and promoters looking to raise funds.
Amid this heightened level of activity, the Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has enforced a probe against seven fraudsters who were allegedly using social media to manipulate stock prices of securities listed on the SME board.
What Sebi’s Probe Revealed
Sebi has uncovered a stock market manipulation scam run by a single family. Following a detailed investigation, the regulator found that seven members of the same family, namely Hemant Gupta, Rohan Gupta, Aniket Gupta, Sharon Gupta, Leana Gupta, Rajani Gupta and Purvangi Gupta, were artificially manipulating share prices.
As a part of the scam, the accused were found to have manipulated eighty-two different stocks, buying and selling among themselves to artificially inflate demand for those shares. Sebi said in its order that the family group managed to make illegal profits worth Rs 20.25 crore.
Modus Operandi Deployed
According to Sebi’s enforcement order, the main operators, Hemant Gupta, Rohan Gupta, and Aniket Gupta, would purchase large amounts of shares in small companies that typically saw very little trading volume.
After purchasing the shares, they would use social media handles such as Wealth Solitaire and Desi Wall Street, which had over 54,000 followers across X, Telegram, and WhatsApp, to send out urgent messages telling people to buy the stock.
As retail investors would rush to buy the stock, the momentum would drive the stock prices up significantly, and the family would quickly sell off their shares at the peak, allowing the rest of the family members to make huge profits. Following the probe, Sebi has frozen their accounts and banned all seven family members from trading on the stock market.
Sebi found in its investigation that the family violated several regulations, such as the Prevention of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices regulations. Additionally, they also violated Sebi’s finfluencer guidelines as Hemant, Rohan, and Aniket Gupta were giving specific buy instructions and target prices to thousands of public followers without being registered as Sebi-authorised advisors.
The Finfluencer Regulatory Crackdown
Sebi’s latest investigation is a part of its mission to curb the spread of unauthorised financial advice. In the last two years, the market watchdog has warned investors to stay away from stock tips shared on social media apps.
Additionally, the regulator has also introduced strict rules to stop legal stockbrokers from working with unregistered online influencers.
How Can Retail Investors Protect Themselves
Amid the increasing instances of such scams, investors need to be wary not to get scammed. Investors should always check if any person or online group offering stock tips is actually registered with the market regulator. Additionally, investors should also be wary of groups or social media entities guaranteeing multi-fold returns or massive target prices, especially when it involves small companies.
