the real game here is to some way, any way, get the price high enough so shares purchased
No, the real game is played by the entity behind the litigations, whether that is SEO, one of his companies, Peter, Sylvan, TOTAL or even Krombacher does not matter.
There is no need to pump this stock, which does not work obviously: once drilling starts it's execution day for the shorts. They are already on deathrow for years.