Explained: How YouTube Hype, Google Ads & Stock Manipulation Drove Sadhna Broadcast Stock Scam – SEBI Report

In recent times, the stock market has seen many frauds, but the case involving Sadhna Broadcast Ltd stands out because it used digital platforms in a very organized way to trick investors.

According to SEBI (the Securities and Exchange Board of India), this was a well-planned “pump-and-dump” scam—where the price of a company’s shares is artificially increased (pumped) so that insiders can sell at a profit, leaving regular investors with heavy losses.

This scam used fake YouTube videos, targeted Google Ads, and insider trading to create a false image of the company’s growth. SEBI’s 109-page final report contains proof in the form of WhatsApp chats, money transfers, fake video promotions, and stock trading records that show exactly how the fraud was done.

Uploading of YouTube Videos & Google Ad Campaigns

The scam was led by a person named Manish Mishra, along with his associates Vivek Chauhan and Dipak Dwivedi. They used several popular YouTube channels such as The Advisor, Moneywise, Profit Yatra, Midcap Calls, and India Bullish to spread false information.

These videos claimed that Sadhna Broadcast was about to sign a Rs 1,100 crore Hollywood film deal, be acquired by the Adani Group, and had great fundamentals. None of these were true.

These videos were made to look professional and were pushed aggressively using a Rs 5.8 crore budget for digital advertisements on Google AdSense.

Bank records showed that Manish Mishra alone spent Rs 3.39 crore, and Purav Patel and Dipak Dwivedi added another Rs 2.4 crore.

This made sure that the fake videos reached a large number of people, mostly small retail investors who trusted what they saw online.

Pre-Investigation Period (Jan 3 – Mar 4, 2022)

Before this campaign started, the Sadhna Broadcast stock was mostly inactive. It traded in very low volumes—just about 1,350 shares a day—and its price stayed around Rs 2 (after a stock split). However, planning was already going on behind the scenes.

SEBI found WhatsApp messages between Subhash Agarwal (Director at Skyline Financial, the company’s registrar) and Manish Mishra.

They were already discussing how to sell shares and manage the financial parts of the scam. Agarwal played the key role of connecting the company’s promoters with the team handling the manipulation.

Price and Volume Rise Before Videos (Mar 8 – Jul 14, 2022)

Starting in March, trading in Sadhna’s stock suddenly increased without any real company news. The average daily volume jumped to over 2 lakh shares, and the stock price rose 616%, from Rs 1.77 to Rs 12.68.

SEBI found that this was due to “structured trades”—when connected people trade with each other to create an illusion of demand.

Promoters Shreya Gupta and Reena Goel were deeply involved. Reena would sell shares at the upper limit, and Shreya would buy them at the same price shortly after.

Their husbands, Gaurav Gupta and Sunil Goel, were also involved, coordinating via WhatsApp. By July, the stock had gained enough momentum to be moved out of the call auction segment, opening it up for wider public trading.

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The First Video Blitz and Peak Hype (Jul 15 – Aug 12, 2022)

On July 15, the first round of fake videos was launched. The YouTube channels began posting highly misleading videos recommending Sadhna Broadcast stock, giving unrealistic price targets.

The response was immediate—within just 20 days, the stock shot up from Rs 13.31 to Rs 33.15, hitting the upper price circuit daily.

During this period, retail investors rushed in—more than 46,000 people bought the stock, many influenced by the videos.

Meanwhile, insiders and promoters started selling their shares. Sadhna Bio Oils Pvt Ltd and Virtual Business Solutions sold over 1.6 crore shares and made Rs 33 crore.

Actor Arshad Warsi and his wife Maria Goretti also sold around 6.6 lakh shares, earning Rs 1.7 crore during this time.

After the First Wave of Videos (Aug 16 – Aug 29, 2022)

After mid-August, no new videos were released, and the hype began to fade. The stock price crashed from Rs 33 to Rs 20 in just two weeks—a drop of 40%.

Trading volumes dropped, and the remaining sellers were mostly small retail investors. SEBI concluded that this was the phase where the general public was left holding the stock, while insiders had already exited.

Second Video Push (Aug 30 – Sep 12, 2022)

As the price fell, another round of videos was uploaded to boost investor interest again. The same pattern followed—prices and volumes increased, allowing any insiders still holding shares to sell.

This second push wasn’t as strong as the first, but it gave the manipulators another chance to exit their positions profitably.

Silence and Decline (Sep 13 – Oct 21, 2022)

In this period, no new promotional videos were posted. As expected, the stock lost its momentum. Both the trading volume and price continued to fall. The number of retail investors was still high, but insiders had already sold their holdings.

SEBI observed very little activity from connected parties during this phase.

The Final Push (Oct 23 – Nov 30, 2022)

A third and last wave of videos appeared in late October. One video by Profit Yatra alone received over 1.4 crore views. The stock price and volume rose again. But this time, there were very few shares left to sell.

The goal now seemed to be keeping public interest high so that leftover shares could be sold without pulling down the price too fast.

Post-Investigation Trading & SEBI’s Conclusions

SEBI started investigating the case in December 2022. Soon after, the stock price and trading volumes collapsed.

The fraud cycle ended, and many retail investors were left with big losses. SEBI’s report confirmed that this entire event was not due to regular market forces—it was a well-planned scam carried out by a network of people.

Connections Between the Noticees

SEBI found that many people were linked to this scam. Promoter group members were trading shares among themselves to create fake demand. They also used family members, employees, and shell companies to hide their involvement.

Subhash Agarwal was the key link between the promoters and Manish Mishra, who ran the digital campaign and controlled the fake YouTube accounts.

Many of the videos were posted under fake names like “Ramesh Khayaaliram Somani” to hide the real creators.

Manish Mishra and the Promoters

One of the most important pieces of evidence was a WhatsApp chat where Subhash Agarwal promised to pay Manish Mishra Rs 10 lakh as early as February 2022.

Later, Agarwal sent him a handwritten note explaining how to sell 1.5 crore shares of Sadhna in phases, along with strict rules and penalties for any mistakes.

This clearly showed that the YouTube videos and the share sales were part of one single plan, not separate events.