The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed a ban on seven individuals for allegedly orchestrating a coordinated pump-and-dump scheme through social media platforms, allegedly resulting in unlawful gains exceeding ₹20.25 crore.
As part of the sanctions, SEBI has ordered finfluencer Hemant Gupta and his sons, Rohan and Aniket Gupta, to immediately halt the offering of unregistered research analyst services and to refrain from presenting themselves as research analysts.
In a detailed 234-page interim order dated May 22, SEBI alleged that the Gupta family acted as “Operators” who initially amassed positions in thinly traded SME stocks. They subsequently circulated bullish stock recommendations on various social media platforms to artificially inflate stock prices before selling their shares for profit.
Four other family members—Sharon, Leana, Rajani, and Purvangi Gupta—are accused of facilitating the scheme by permitting the use of their trading accounts or executing trades at the operators’ direction.
“Preliminary investigations have highlighted a meticulously orchestrated scheme whereby the operators, by disseminating stock recommendations on their X Accounts and other social media, induced the public to trade in securities based solely on misleading and unsolicited tips, thereby allowing the beneficiaries to sell their holdings at inflated prices,” stated SEBI’s Whole Time Member Kamlesh C. Varshney.
The investigation covered 82 scrips during the examination period from December 1, 2023, to January 20, 2026. According to SEBI, Rohan and Aniket Gupta shared bullish updates on their X handles, ‘@WealthSolitaire’ and ‘@desiwallstreet,’ while Hemant amplified these recommendations across various WhatsApp and Telegram groups, often including specific target prices and intentionally avoiding posts on X to evade regulatory scrutiny.
SEBI reported a significant rise in gross trading activity among the seven individuals, increasing from ₹548 crore in the pre-examination period to ₹1,023 crore during the examination. Their total squared-off profits surged by 242 percent, totaling ₹58.40 crore, with Rohan and Sharon Gupta identified as the primary beneficiaries, amassing profits of ₹50.03 crore.
The regulatory authority emphasized that the Gupta family accrued wrongful gains exceeding ₹20.25 crore from unsuspecting investors who acted on the stock recommendations disseminated via social media.
Moreover, SEBI noted that the Gupta family—specifically Hemant, Rohan, and Aniket—were not registered as research analysts. Despite this lack of registration, they provided services to a significant number of subscribers, misleading them into engaging in securities trading based on purported stock analysis.
As a result, SEBI has mandated that the Gupta family jointly and individually return the unlawful gains of over ₹20.25 crore and has prohibited them from buying, selling, or otherwise dealing in securities, effective immediately.
Published on May 25, 2026.
