Investors Face Friday Deadline in Securities Class Action Against Citadel Securities and Virtu Americas Over Alleged Spoofing
Investors who purchased or sold securities of Genius Group Limited between April 12, 2022 and May 30, 2025 face an important Friday deadline to participate in a securities class action lawsuit against Citadel Securities LLC and Virtu Americas LLC. The Rosen Law Firm announced that investors must move the court no later than August 28, 2026 to serve as lead plaintiff in the case.
The lawsuit alleges that the two defendants engaged in "spoofing," a manipulative trading practice that became illegal under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. This federal law amended the Commodity Exchange Act to specifically prohibit placing orders with the intent to cancel them before execution, classifying such conduct as a criminal offense.
Understanding the Alleged Manipulation
According to the complaint, throughout the class period, defendants submitted and then cancelled buy or sell orders without genuine intent to execute them. These "baiting orders" were allegedly designed to mislead other market participants about the true level of supply and demand for Genius securities and about the stock's price volatility, thereby influencing the market price to benefit the defendants' own trading positions.
Spoofing is typically associated with high-frequency trading, which allows traders to execute large trade orders and place and cancel massive numbers of orders in very short time periods using algorithmic rather than manual trading. The alleged manipulation also increased investors' transaction costs by inflating the bid-ask spread for Genius stock.
The lawsuit alleges that defendants entered thousands of baiting orders on U.S. stock exchanges to create a false impression that Genius' stock price reflected genuine market dynamics, while simultaneously profiting by absorbing and reselling their customers' order flow at favorable prices.
The Defendants
Citadel Securities is the largest designated market maker on the New York Stock Exchange. Though it is a separate entity from the hedge fund Citadel LLC, both were founded and are majority owned by Kenneth C. Griffin. Virtu Americas LLC also operates as a major market maker and is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, with operations including market making in domestic equities, options, exchange-traded funds, and fixed income securities on all major domestic equity exchanges.
The lawsuit filed in November 2025 includes specific allegations about the defendants' trading volume. During the week of February 10, 2025, according to the complaint, Citadel traded more than 23 million shares of Genius stock off-exchange, accounting for nearly 50% of all off-exchange trading, while Virtu traded nearly 11 million shares, representing more than 20% of off-exchange activity. Together, the defendants allegedly comprised nearly 70% of all off-exchange trading in Genius stock that week.
About Genius Group
Genius Group Limited is an AI-powered, Bitcoin-first education company founded in 2002 and headquartered in Singapore. The company provides entrepreneurship education and business development tools, delivering education and acceleration solutions.
Legal Deadlines and Process
Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, investors have 60 days from the publication of the initial complaint to petition the court to serve as lead plaintiff in federal securities class actions. This deadline is strictly applied. A lead plaintiff serves as a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is the independent federal agency that monitors spoofing activities in futures markets and has authority to impose civil fines that can reach tens or hundreds of millions of dollars for violations.
The Rosen Law Firm, which is representing plaintiffs in this case, was ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017 and has been ranked in the top 4 firms each year since 2013. The firm concentrates its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation.
Investors who wish to join the class action may do so through a contingency fee arrangement without payment of out-of-pocket fees or costs. No class has been certified yet, and until certification occurs, investors are not represented by counsel unless they retain one. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.
For more information about the class action or to participate, investors can contact the Rosen Law Firm at 866-767-3653 or via email at [email protected].
