Andrew Left Found Guilty in Case That Spooks Short Sellers

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Andrew Left Found Guilty in Case That Spooked Short Sellers
by Erik Larson
Mon, June 1, 2026

(Bloomberg) -- Famed short seller Andrew Left faces the possibility of decades behind bars after being found guilty of using disingenuous social media posts to manipulate stocks, in a landmark case that threatens to chill a broader trading strategy loathed by corporate executives.
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But in Left’s case, the government took issue with how quickly Left closed out his trading positions after publicly criticizing or boosting companies. That practice has long been polarizing, and Left’s case marked one of few times that the issue has faced trial.

Frank Zhang, an accounting professor at the Yale School of Management, said the verdict will have a chilling effect on short sellers, because “it will scare them into silence.”
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Left, the founder of Citron Research, was convicted on 13 of the 17 counts. He was accused of using explosive tweets about dozens of companies to illegally influence their shares and make a quick profit. Prosecutors said he earned more than $20 million from such trades from 2018 to 2023.

After the verdict, Left blasted the case as an attack on free speech and innocent trading conduct. He said it was inconceivable that he could have moved the stock of massive companies as prosecutors had alleged.
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Left told jurors he doesn’t believe there is anything wrong with him profiting from the “price correction” of a stock after he issues a report or tweet about a company he thinks is overvalued or undervalued.
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Earlier in the trial, prosecutors presented emails that they say show Left coordinated with hedge funds on stocks he planned to short and bragged his “hot voice” with retail investors meant they could “take candy from a baby.”

Jurors also heard from Mike Gorenstein, the chief executive officer of Canadian cannabis distributor Cronos Group Inc., who testified that he was stunned when Left issued a report saying the company was overvalued, prompting shares to plunge.

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