From rumor, this is just suplimental income for a couple of staffers. Because of access to cheap or zero-cost trades they manipulate cheap stocks for a few months, bidding the stocks higher and cashing in when they are in a reasonably profitable position. It is not a lot of money and not worth noticing against a backgound of real manipulation by market movers. Sometimse the market movers squash them and they never make a profit. This info is also several years old. If true at all, it may no longer be happening.