Citron Research founder Andrew Left, who is known as one of the most prominent activist short-sellers, has been charged with conducting a $20 million fraud scheme by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Federal prosecutors allege that the famed short-seller manipulated the prices of various stocks with his pieces of advice.
Left allegedly earned $16 million after reversing positions in these stocks after they experienced volatility due to his recommendations.
On one occasion, for instance, the defendants immediately started selling a target stock after it hit $28 despite previously claiming that they would keep their long position until $65. The agency alleges that Left personally bragged about the effectiveness of his statements to colleagues when it comes to persuading market participants. He said that it was like “taking candy from a baby.”
The complaint also alleges that Left was targeting retail investors since they were less informed.
The SEC claims that Citron Research was misleadingly portrayed as an independent outlet by Left despite the fact that he had had compensation arrangements with various hedge funds. Moreover, Citrol Capital, which was touted to be a successful hedge fund by Left, never actually had any outside investors. The SEC claims that it merely served as a vehicle for trading his own money.
Cintron Research, which was originally founded as Stock.Lemon in 2001, gained prominence by publishing opinions about controversial stocks that Left thought were overvalued or borderline fraudulent. In early 2020, he briefly became the most hated man in the investment community after shorting the GameStop stock, which later experienced a massive retail-driven short-squeeze.
As reported by U.Today, Left called crypto “complete fraud” in 2022.
