That nothing to do with PYCT at all. It involves real companies which either does or did trade well into the dollars and had things like Revenues, offices, contacts, individuals with verified backgrounds, employees, ect. and never had anything like OS counts near 29 billion.
While PYCT has always been a scam never producing any revenues, no offices, no phones (other than 2 low rent IR type) never traded at even a penny a share let alone dollars per share.
Shorting stocks, even naked shorting, at dollars makes since while not at .0001. And those short of the companies in the article were covered to make money. Which is why they are in serious legal doo doo.