👉👉👉 #Citron crypto-skeptic Andrew Left to face fraud charges
Andrew Left, the founder of the short-selling financial research firm Citron Research, faces accusations of #SecuritiesFraud for allegedly profiting $16 million through deceptive stock recommendations that misled retail investors.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged in a July 26 statement that Left, a known crypto-skeptic, used social media and TV appearances to make stock recommendations in which he had short or long positions. This strategy created a false impression that his public comments aligned with his company's trading activity, while in many instances, he executed opposite trades.
"This fraudulent practice deceived investors and allowed Left to use his Citron Research reports and tweets as catalysts for short-term profits," the SEC added.
The SEC claims that Citron and Left engaged in illegal trades and attempted market manipulation from March 2018 to December 2023. The case has been filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California.
Involving 26 trades from 23 companies, the case includes notable firms like Nvidia, American Airlines, Alibaba, Meta (formerly Facebook), and X (formerly Twitter, now privately held).
Concurrently, the US Department of Justice has announced a criminal case against Left, accusing him of securities fraud and lying to federal law enforcement about compensation from hedge funds.
If convicted on all 18 fraud-related charges, Left could face up to 25 years in prison. His indictment follows his strong criticism of the #CryptoIndustry , which he described as rife with fraud in July 2022.
“I think crypto is just complete fraud, over and over and over,” Left stated when asked about fraud in financial markets.
In a recent move, Citron Research advised investors to short Coinbase. In February, Citron called for the short sale of Coinbase stock following a temporary outage at the crypto exchange on February 28.
