It was about stocks, not options. Here are 3 generic cases (from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_manipulation) that authorities could make a court-case of: - Wash trade: "Selling and repurchasing the same or substantially the same security for the purpose of generating activity and increasing the price". - Bear raid: "Attempting to push the price of a stock down by heavy selling or short selling."[7] - Quote stuffing is a tactic employed by high-frequency traders that involves using specialized, high-bandwidth hardware to quickly enter and withdraw large quantities of orders in an attempt to flood the market, thereby gaining an advantage over slower market participants.[8]