A U.S. District Court judge on Monday ordered the assets frozen for a Russian man, his company BroCo Investments and his co-conspirators. The defendants are accused of using stolen credentials to access online brokerage accounts to boost the share prices of thinly traded stocks, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission complaint. The 36-year-old ringleader, Valery Maltsev, and his cohorts purchased unauthorized stock orders on behalf of the victims, a move that inflated the share prices. Then, the defendants, who personally owned the same stocks, sold their positions at "artificially inflated prices." The scam resulted in $255,532 in ill-gotten gains and was a violation of federal laws, according to the SEC. — DK