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, I found that not only had the Fifth Circuit revived the indictment, but a whole host of bizarre developments had unfolded. Among them: the original judge suddenly recused himself; “Zack’s” lawyers dropped him as a client. He had repeatedly harassed and threatened prosecutors online, including posting suggestive photos of real weapons (along with a Power Rangers sword), and he offered a $5,000 bounty (!) to his followers for information about the lawyers. But he wasn’t thrown in jail for all that; he has 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 paying subscribers up to speed — with receipts.
