r/interesting • u/be_you_tiful- • 9d ago

Just Wow Bro cashed out way too much

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A man working from his parents' house in West London made tens of millions of dollars trading futures from a bedroom filled with stuffed toys. His name is Navinder Singh Sarao, and he's on the autism spectrum.

There was no Wall Street trading floor. Sarao worked out of the family home in Hounslow, using a customized trading program on an ordinary desktop computer, and by most accounts he lived a pretty quiet life.

Then came May 6, 2010. In a matter of minutes, US stock markets plunged, and nearly $1 trillion in value briefly vanished before prices bounced back. It became known as the Flash Crash.

Years later, US authorities said Sarao's spoofing helped make it worse. Prosecutors said he placed large sell orders he never intended to fill, then canceled them, which pushed prices down so he could profit from the swings. They said his strategy was running on the day of the crash, and that he made more than $40 million from this kind of trading over several years.

Sarao fought extradition from the UK for years. He eventually pleaded guilty to wire fraud and spoofing in the US. His lawyers pointed to his autism, and the judge sentenced him to time served followed by home confinement rather than more prison time, citing his cooperation with prosecutors.

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u/Fra5er 9d ago

I’m sorry but hedge funds are allowed to artificially move the value of stock prices at whim but when retail does it its a crime?

221

u/ThePlantHearth 9d ago

Same as gamestop. We gotta just shut down the stock market in general. Its just a way for people who dont produce or give back to society to gain more than the working place.

20

u/Noeyiax 9d ago

i agree, GameStop times were crazy and greatly showed how corrupt the stock market is... and we put our IRA, 401K, roth/tsa, and more... idk then taxes and other fees, feels like nothing... but yeah privileged and super lucky they say... sure

3

u/xiodeman 9d ago

We’ll see what happens

3

u/Spider-man2098 9d ago

I have friends everywhere.