Beresford, Annette D.

Internet technologies provide a criminal opportunity for stock manipulation and fraud that costs investors millions of dollars every day. In order to reduce this loss and craft policies and procedures to deter future losses, securities regulators have been seeking to understand the process of Internet securities fraud, including the actions of investors and fraudsters that contribute to that process. The purpose of this study is to determine the properties of the Internet communication environment associated with fraudulent stock schemes in order to contribute to these efforts of securities regulators. In addition, an aim of this study is to introduce Foucault's concept of power/knowledge as a means for theory development in the fields of finance, criminology and public administration that specifically addresses manipulation and fraud in the stock market.