[Photo:  Tres Knippa, former CME trader / YouTube]

Herschel Knippa III, a stock promoter and the owner/head trader at Kenai Capital Management, admitted to participating in a plot to dupe investors out of $131 million. Knippa, 46, who was one of 9 people charged in the scam, touted stock in ForceField Energy, a worthless LED lighting distributor, while appearing on a Fox Business cable TV show.

Prosecutors said Knippa touted the now-essentially worthless ForceField stock without revealing his receipt of kickbacks. They also said that, during a July 2014 appearance on Fox Business Network's "Varney & Co," Knippa lied to host Stuart Varney when asked if he owned ForceField by responding: "You bet I do. I put my money where my mouth is."

According to court papers, …  Knippa solicited more than $1.19 million in ForceField private placements from at least 10 investors and, with other conspirators, tried to hide the scheme by using disposable cellphones and using cash for kickbacks. Authorities said the defendants manipulated ForceField stock from 2009 to April 2015 by secretly trading it in undisclosed accounts, inflating trading volume, and concealing kickbacks.

At least 7 defendants have entered guilty pleas, court records show. 

Knippa now faces up to 5 years in prison. Fox Business and Varney were not accused of wrongdoing.

ForceField shares last traded on Thursday, at 1/10,000th of a cent.