[Spiph]

I'm an M&A/Securities lawyer. Here's the relevant law on the issue:

Rule 10b-5 -- Employment of Manipulative and Deceptive Devices
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It shall be unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, by the use of any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce, or of the mails or of any facility of any national securities exchange,

(a) To employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud,
(b) To make any untrue statement of a material fact or to omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or
(c) To engage in any act, practice, or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person,

in connection with the purchase or sale of any security.

Section 14 -- Proxies
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(e) Untrue statement of material fact or omission of fact with respect to tender offer

It shall be unlawful for any person to make any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading, or to engage in any fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative acts or practices, in connection with any tender offer or request or invitation for tenders, or any solicitation of security holders in opposition to or in favor of any such offer, request, or invitation. The Commission shall, for the purposes of this subsection, by rules and regulations define, and prescribe means reasonably designed to prevent, such acts and practices as are fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative.

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Bottom line is that the SEC will investigate. It will be hard to prove any wrongdoing under either of these rules. Unless they find a smoking gun (proof that he or someone he knows benefitted from shift in price; or that his intentions were to actually manipulate) he will likely get off without being charged ... so long as he doesn't lie during the investigation.

Looks shady and probably was shady, but without "real" evidence, nothing will happen.

Tortman