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by Mike Caswell

Boston prosecutors will be seeking a $58-million restitution order against Roger "Rocket" Knox, the U.K. man who helped run multiple pump-and-dumps, including at least four linked to Vancouver. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) They say that Mr. Knox participated in schemes that defrauded as many as 19,552 investors. He ran an offshore platform that catered to hidden insiders who were looking to unload their shares on the market.

The proposed $58-million order against Mr. Knox is contained in a notice that prosecutors filed in federal court on Monday, Dec. 4. The matter of restitution is one of the few things of substance remaining in the case, as Mr. Knox previously pleaded guilty and on Oct. 13, 2023, received a three-year jail term. (The judge gave him one year to report to prison so he could complete his co-operation with prosecutors, with that co-operation possibly including testimony against others.)

Monday's motion says little about Mr. Knox's crime, instead explaining the mathematical gymnastics that were required to arrive at the $58-million figure, with that exercise necessary given the "enormous size and scope" of Mr. Knox's fraud. The government hired data analysis experts who went over hundreds of thousands of trades in the stocks involved. The resulting work showed that there were at least 19,552 investors who lost money, prosecutors say. To reduce the workload involved in contacting and paying out victims, the government based the restitution on those who lost more than $500, which produced a list of 8,051 victims who lost a combined $58-million, according to prosecutors. (Without that $500 threshold, the total loss was $59.9-million.)

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