Welcome to Black Sheep, a spin‑off of my serialized memoir, SMIRK. If you’re looking for SMIRK, here’s the link to the complete book. Black Sheep is where I now follow similar themes of fraud and folly in other companies, industries, and individuals.
Back in 2024, I wrote about how a crew of social media-based penny stock pumpers, led by a guy who went by the persona of “Zack Morris,” managed to “beat the Feds.” Charged with a $114 million fraud scheme for allegedly promoting stocks to their followers and quietly selling at the peak, they won the dismissal of the indictment just two weeks before trial. The judge’s ruling hinged on a creative interpretation of a recent Supreme Court precedent and findings that the pumpers were “too far removed” economically from the investors who got stuck with the losses.
This seemed questionable to me and unlikely to survive an appeal. I wrote: “After all, even a conservative-majority Supreme Court probably would not give carte blanche to “pump and dump” schemes.”
Lo and behold, I was right.
When I checked back in on the case this week, still pending in Houston federal court, I found that not only had the Fifth Circuit revived the indictment, there had been a whole host of bizarre developments. Among them: the original judge suddenly recused himself, “Zack’s” lawyers have dropped him as a client, and he had been repeatedly harassing and threatening prosecutors online. He had also fled the country.
How did all of this unfold? What was the reaction in court? Will he ever face justice? I will do my best to bring you up to speed — at least if you’re willing to give me a few dollars for a subscription :)
