Oh sure, they were playing the stock. Doing a lot of things. But I don't think of them as the "promoters". I'm not sure what I'd call them, though I'd certainly call Abellan a crook. Kang hasn't been caught yet.
What I don't understand about them is why they let the plays continue. They did it with LEXG and then again with RAYS. Why pretend they're real companies? The big money has been made; you'd think they'd just move on.
the short answer is they keep the deal going because it would bring an enormous amount of regulatory heat on them... so they fund these deals and maybe one in 100 hit and they bank. Most fail though in my experience.