SEC Suspends Trading in Inactive Issuer Touted on Social Media

The Securities and Exchange Commission today suspended trading in an inactive company amid questions surrounding online promotion of the company’s securities and recent trading activity. The SEC’s trading suspension order states that since late January 2021, certain social media accounts may be engaged in a coordinated attempt to artificially influence the share price of SpectraScience Inc. (OTC: SCIE), an inactive Minnesota-based corporation. The order further states that during the same period, the share price and trading volume of SpectraScience shares increased even though there was no publicly available news from the company. The SEC’s order also states that SpectraScience is delinquent in its reporting, having not filed any periodic reports since 2017, and that its most recent website and phone number are non-functional.