According to TechFlow, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a statement on July 26, accusing Andrew Left, the founder of the well-known short-selling agency Citron Research, of securities fraud and illegal profits of $16 million.
The SEC alleges that Left used social media and television appearances to recommend stocks in which he held long and short positions, creating the illusion that his public comments were consistent with corporate trading activities. In reality, Left often recommended that readers buy immediately after selling, or sell immediately after recommending that they buy.
The SEC accused Left of making 26 illegal transactions involving 23 companies between March 2018 and December 2023, including Nvidia, American Airlines, Alibaba, Meta, and X (formerly Twitter).
The U.S. Department of Justice also filed a criminal complaint against Left, accusing him of securities fraud and lying to federal law enforcement about hedge fund compensation. If Left is convicted on all 18 fraud-related charges, he could face up to 25 years in prison.
It is worth noting that Left publicly criticized the cryptocurrency industry as full of fraud in July 2022, and called for shorting Coinbase stock in February of this year.
Earlier news said that GameStop short-seller Citron Research no longer shorted $GME, saying that the Roaring Kitty live broadcast was an insult to the capital market.
