(Bloomberg) — A US judge denied short-seller Andrew Left’s request to toss out the criminal case against him over his trading activity on the grounds that it was a “selective prosecution” that targeted his online speech.
A two-page order issued Monday by US District Judge Terry J. Hatter in Los Angeles did not explain the reason for the motion being rejected. An earlier bid by Left to dismiss the charges on different grounds was denied by the same judge in July. Trial is set for March 17.
Left, whose stock tips were closely watched by thousands of investors, was charged in July 2024 following a wide-ranging probe into the short selling industry. He and his firm, Citron Research, are accused of using false and misleading social-media posts about his trading plans in more than a dozen companies to nudge their stock up or down enough to make a quick profit.
Eric Rosen, Left’s attorney, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The case has already led to some self-imposed changes in the industry as a number of short sellers beefed up their disclaimers about their own trading activity. Left has pleaded not guilty. He faces as much as 25 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors claim Left used his clout with investors to try to game the system with his posts about multibillion dollar companies like American Airlines Group Inc. and Tesla Inc., as well as smaller outfits like Namaste Technologies Inc.
Left argued in his July filing that the prosecution was improper because he was being targeted for “publishing negative opinions that move the market downward,” while other Wall Street prognosticators were left alone because they “injected bullish opinions into the market that drove prices up.”
Left’s request to dismiss a parallel civil suit by the US Securities and Exchange Commission was denied by a different judge in April.
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