Votes are definitely being manipulated, and I have observed frequent rapid upvote blasts on this user's heavily-downvoted populations of posts for something like a year. The question really is by who, and I don't know how to prove that rigorously (computer systems aren't exactly my specialty), but the problem has been relatively focused for such a long time that I consider other possibilities unlikely.

Now that there is apparently a ban in place (for reasons I find quite understandable and potentially valid yet lacking in rigorous policy), we should definitely be looking for similar upvote blasts elsewhere, which would increase the odds of it being a third party.