I understand it's easy to borrow shares to sell short.

However, earlier this week I was able to buy at the bid (which had been the ask when I originally put in my limit order at the ask).

Immediately following the buys I made, a "trade" went through for an equal number of shares at a higher price.

If I purchased shares at the bid, but someone 'borrowed' the sahres at a higher price (to fill me bid order) then what gain did the seller (presumably borrowing those shares) have?

Other than circular trading to keep the price down, (which could be part of a control process to cover the existing short position without creating a demand since there really aren't many sellers here) why would someone borrow shares at a higher price to sell lower?

If I recall correctly, short interest (what little there is) increased significantly from this time last year. So it is safe to assume most of the currently shorted shares were done so below .20. With a lack of sellers to allow those short to cover, they need to disguise the demand and control the price per share until they cover.