A fake bid was submitted at 11:34:17 for Avon ... as Eric (@nanexllc) mentioned, it was late in the 11:35 bar when the stock finally began to react... reader bots skeptical and required human intervention? ... anyway, you can't see in my one minute chart below what a realistic entry and exit would have looked like, you need to drop to a tick chart for that ... also my chart doesn't reflect the multiple halts the stock suffered, and what a mess the non-bunched chart looks like.
I assume they will find whoever put in the fake bid and will jail them. It's easy to track large purchases of call options (the options markets are incredibly illiquid and it takes milliseconds to detect unusual activity) so the SEC, even working at government bureaucrat speed, should be able to uncover the culprits within a day or two.
UPDATE: They got him fairly fast, the amusingly named NEDko NEDev. Funny post from Matt Levine.
Crick to enrarge