WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury has indicted prominent activist short seller Andrew Left on multiple counts of securities fraud for a long-running $16 million market manipulation scheme, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday.
The indictment, filed on Thursday, said Left “commented on publicly traded companies, asserting that the market incorrectly valued a company’s stock and advocating that the current price was too high or too low,” the Justice Department said.
Left, 54, of Boca Raton, Florida, made recommendations as a commentator on multiple cable business news channels, on his X social media account and a website, it said.
“The commentary routinely included sensationalized headlines and exaggerated language to maximize the reaction it would get from the stock market,” the department said.
(Source: Reuters)
Kevin Putnam is a financial journalist and editor based in New York. He specializes in editing news and analysis related to U.S. stock market.
