It's obvious you've overlooked the most important part of the scam. The pumpers are in collusion with the transfer agents and get tipped off when the T/A's are running out of shares and will need to raise the price.
So the pumpers get the tip, they buy the last of the cheap shares from the T/A, the T/A raises the price so everyone else has to buy the more expensive shares, then the pumpers sell their shares back to the T/A before they lower the price again, and everyone else who didn't sell in time has to sell back to the T/A at the lower prices.
So simple. How did you miss that Gregg?
I post facts and opinions, not investment advice.
Please conduct your own DD and trade responsibly.