Stephen Piepgrass, leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement Practice Group, was quoted in the April 2, 2026 MSN Newspoint article, “Unprecedented Trading Surge in Oil Markets Raises Concerns Over Manipulation.”

  • Market analysts confirmed to CBS News that this trading volume was significantly above the norm for that hour. Stephen Piepgrass, a partner specializing in futures trading at Troutman Pepper Locke, remarked, “The substantial increase in trade volume right before that announcement is certainly suspicious and warrants an investigation into the circumstances surrounding it.”