U.S. lawmakers have launched investigations into several Wall Street underwriters, including Dominari Securities, whose parent company is tied to the Trump family, over their role in bringing Chinese companies to U.S. stock markets that were later linked to stock manipulation schemes.
On Monday, the House of Representatives Select Committee on China, chaired by Rep. John Molinar with Rep. Ro Khanna as ranking member, sent letters to three US companies – De Boral Capital, Dominari Securities and River Securities – seeking information on Chinese initial public offerings (IPOs) that they helped underwrite.
“These scam centers defraud American households through coordinated “ramp and dump” stock manipulation schemes involving Chinese shell companies listed on U.S. exchanges, which your firm appears to facilitate,” the lawmakers wrote.
Chinese companies allegedly used U.S. IPOs to boost their share prices through coordinated trading and promotion, then dumped shares on retail investors before the stock crashed. In some cases, dozens of accounts have reportedly placed buy orders nearly identical to the IPO price, temporarily driving up prices before insiders sell their shares.
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Chinese stock schemes cost investors billions.
Lawmakers cited estimates that about $16 billion of American investors’ wealth has been lost through 2023 through such schemes. He also pointed to FBI data showing a 300 percent increase in complaints related to Chinese stock manipulation cases.
The inquiry seeks documents from the underwriters, including communications, trading records, sources of funding and due diligence policies related to Chinese IPOs.
The committee said it was examining whether U.S. financial intermediaries unwittingly aided and abetted manipulation schemes involving Chinese issuers. The firms have been asked to submit the required documents by Friday.
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Dominari has been scrutinized in its investigation of Chinese stocks.
One of the brokerage firms named in the investigation is Dominari, which has ties to the Trump family. Located in New York’s Trump Tower, it is owned by Dominari Holdings, where US President Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump is the fourth largest shareholder. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. joined the company’s advisory board in February 2025.
Last year, Dominari helped facilitate fundraising for Thump, a public company that adopted a Bitcoin (BTC) treasury strategy and also attracted a multimillion-dollar investment from Donald Trump Jr.
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