LAX Leader

A stock analyst and frequent guest on business television news channels has been charged in a 19-count indictment alleging he used his public platform to illicitly profit by manipulating stock market activity and trading contrary to the position he presented to the public, the Justice Department announced today.

Andrew Left, 54, formerly of Beverly Hills but now residing in Boca Raton, Florida, is charged with one count of engaging in a securities fraud scheme, 17 counts of securities fraud, and one count of making false statements to federal investigators.

Left is expected to be arraigned in the coming weeks in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

“This defendant allegedly used his platform as a securities commentator to manipulate the markets and enrich himself in the process,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “The integrity of our securities markets is essential to the health of our financial system, and those who undermine that integrity imperil the savings of hard-working people. My office’s Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force will continue to protect the public by rooting out malfeasance by corporate insiders who believe they are above the law.”

“Mr. Left’s presence on financial television networks and his significant online following provided him with a credible platform to allegedly disguise his intentions and manipulate the investing public for personal gain,” said Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI and our partners at the SEC and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to holding accountable individuals who manipulate stocks for personal benefit at the expense of others.”

“Mr. Left allegedly used his influence and platform to manipulate the market for his own gain while lying to investors and the public to maintain his clout in front of his viewing audience and unsuspecting followers,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen, Criminal Investigations Group, United States Postal Inspection Service. “Postal Inspectors believe the market should be fair and equal for all investors, based on truth, not fiction; when it is not, we will spare no resource to bring those who violate public trust placed in advisors in the financial field to justice.”

According to Thursday's indictment, Left is a securities analyst, trader, and frequent guest commentator on business cable news channels such as CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg Television. He also conducted business under "Citron Research," an online moniker he created for publishing investment recommendations. Citron’s online presence included a website and a social media account on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Using Citron’s online platform, Left commented on publicly traded companies asserting that their stock was incorrectly valued. His recommendations often included representations about Citron’s trading position and a "target price," which he represented as his view of a security's true future value. The indictment alleges that from March 2018 to October 2023, Left used this platform to earn at least $16 million by fraudulently manipulating stock prices.

Knowing Citron’s reputation could move markets, Left allegedly selected companies about which he intended to publish commentary with manipulative intent. He prepared sensationalized commentary for dissemination through Citron using both original work and third-party contributions under his name.

Before publication of Citron’s commentary, Left allegedly established long or short positions in targeted companies' stocks within his trading accounts so he could profit from short-term movements caused by his commentary. He purportedly used inexpensive short-dated options contracts expiring on publication days for quick profits.

The indictment states that despite publicly trustworthy representations about Citron's recommendations' reliability behind-the-scenes actions contradicted these claims for personal gain.

To maintain Citron's independence illusion while bolstering its credibility among investors according-to-indictment-Left concealed financial relationships with hedge funds-even lying-to-law enforcement-about-compensation-exchanges-or-coordinated-trading-with-hedge-funds-before-commentary-issuances.

For example-in-November-2018-Left-allegedly-wrote-a-portfolio-manager-about-Nvidia-Corp-a-publicly-traded-tech-company-based-in-Santa-Clara-Calif-In-the-message-he-wrote-"Do-you-want-to-make-some-fast-money-Put-together-a-thesis-why-nvda-is-oversold-We-can-destroy-it-Just-read-the-analyst-notes-from-this-past-quarter-and-assemble-the-best-of-the-ideas."

Later-that-morning-he-took-financial-positions-in-Nvidia-including-short-dated-call-options-expiring-three-days-later.-Short-dated-options-can-offer-fast-profits-if-stocks-move-suddenly-before-expiration.

Left-promoted-Nvidia-as-a-favorable-investment-on-Citron-Twitter-stating-"Citron-buys-$NVDA.-This-is-first-time-in-two-years-stock-offers-an-appealing-risk-reward-to-investors-We-see-$165-before-we-see-$120." Nvidia-was-trading-at-around-$14364-at-time-and-major-media-outlets-reported-tweet-despite-his-public-expectation-for-price-rise-to-$165-less-than-two-hours-after-announcing-Citron-buys-$NVDA-he-sold-all-pre-tweet-Nvidia-position-trading-between-$150-&-$151-for-profit-of-least-$960000.-Nvidia-high-day-lefts-tweet-& fell-next-day

Indictment-alleges-left-furthered-scheme-by-misrepresenting-trading-position-during-news-programs-public-denouncing-one-company-as-fraud-on-CNBC-Fast-Money-left-allegedly-falsely-covered-only-small-size-of-position-earlier-day-closing-majority-position-following-citron-commentary-publication

An-indictment-merely-allegation-defendant-presumed innocent-unless-proven-guilty-beyond-reasonable-doubt-court-law

If-convicted-left-face-statutory-max-sentence-of25years-federal-prison-securities-fraud-scheme-count-up20years-each-securities-fraud-count-up5years-making false-statements-count

FBI-USPS-inspecting-matter

Assistant-US-Attorneys-Alexander-B-Schwab-Brett-A-Sagel-Corporate-Securities-Fraud-strike-force-Trial-Attorneys-Lauren-Archer-Matthew-Reilly-JD-criminal-divisions-Fraud-section-prosecuting-case

JD-criminal-divisions-Fraud-section-Victim-notification-system-vns-case-info-updates-related-case-victims-contact-Victim-Assistance-unit-calling-Victim-Assistance-phone-line1-8885493945-emailing-victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov-more-info-victims-rights-www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/victim-rights-derechos-de-las-victimas.