Victorian Man Sentenced to 15 Months for $7.14m Wash‑Trading Scheme
A Victorian man has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after admitting to manipulating the market by trading $7.14 million worth of ASX‑listed securities between brokerage accounts he controlled.
On 13 November 2025, Behzad Eghrari pleaded guilty in the County Court of Victoria to three counts of market manipulation involving Investigator Resources (IVR), Silver Mines (SVL) and Lumos Diagnostics (LDX).
According to a statement of agreed facts, Eghrari executed 679 trades across four trading accounts between 3 August 2022 and 23 January 2024. His activity represented up to 73% of daily trading volume in the affected stocks, creating a false impression of active market trading.
Despite repeated warnings from one of his brokers, Bell Direct, including phone calls and cancelled orders, Eghrari continued the conduct.
The behaviour constituted wash trading, a form of market manipulation where buy and sell orders are placed for the financial product without any change in beneficial ownership.
ASIC Chair Joe Longo said wash trading “artificially inflates trading volumes and prices, creating a false impression of genuine market activity, distorting the market.” He added that the practice is “even more damaging in small-cap securities, where even small trades can trigger significant price swings,” and that market manipulation undermines market integrity and erodes participants’ trust.
Eghrari carried out the trades through three CommSec accounts and one Bell Direct account, all under his control. The volume of the wash trades ranged from 1 to 700,000 per transaction, valued between $0.05 and $29,587.
Eghrari will be released immediately upon entering a two‑year good behaviour recognisance.
BrokersView Reminds You
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) oversees Australia’s financial markets and prioritises action against misconduct that undermines market integrity, including market manipulation.
Market manipulation harms all investors. Stay vigilant and report any suspicious trading behaviour.
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