Andrew Left

Andrew Edward Left
Born:	July 9, 1970 United States
Occupation:	Short-seller, financial commentator
Known for:	Founder of Citron Research
Charges:	Securities fraud scheme (1 count), Securities fraud (12 counts)
Sentence:	Pending (sentencing scheduled August 31, 2026)
Facility:
Status:	Convicted, awaiting sentencing

Andrew Edward Left (born July 9, 1970) is an American activist short-seller and financial commentator. He is the founder of Citron Research, an online investment publication he has run since 2001. For two decades Left was one of the most quoted short-sellers in the United States. He appeared regularly on CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg Television, and his reports often moved the share prices of the companies he named.

On June 1, 2026, a federal jury in Los Angeles found Left guilty of securities fraud. The verdict came in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The jury convicted him of one count of running a securities fraud scheme and 12 counts of securities fraud, for a total of 13 of the 17 counts presented at trial. Prosecutors said Left ran a "bait-and-switch" operation. He published recommendations that pushed a stock in one direction, then quietly traded the other way to lock in fast profits. The government put the gain at roughly $21 million across about 23 companies between March 2018 and October 2023.

Left faces a statutory maximum of 25 years in federal prison on the lead count. U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips set sentencing for August 31, 2026. A parallel civil case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission remains pending. After the verdict Left told reporters that he believed the jury "got it wrong" and that the case was "not the end of the road."

Background and Citron Research

Andrew Left was born on July 9, 1970. He worked in finance for years before building a public profile as a short-seller. In 2001 he launched a website called StockLemon.com. He later renamed it Citron Research. Through Citron, Left published reports on companies he said were overvalued or engaged in fraud. A short-seller profits when a stock falls, so a Citron report that drove a price down could benefit Left's own positions.

Left lived in Beverly Hills, California, for much of his career. By the time of his trial he had moved to Boca Raton, Florida. His reports drew a large retail and institutional following. Investors watched his commentary, and target stocks frequently moved when Citron spoke. According to court filings, the price of the companies Left named shifted by more than 12 percent on average after his recommendations.

Citron's most public moment came outside the courtroom. In January 2021 Left issued a bearish call on GameStop during the meme-stock surge. The position drew heavy backlash from retail traders. Left announced soon after that Citron would stop publishing short-selling reports. He later resumed activist commentary. The federal charges that followed did not concern GameStop. They reached back across a longer stretch of his published work.

The Scheme

The government described Left's conduct as a "bait-and-switch" or "short-and-distort" scheme. The mechanics were simple. Left would publish a recommendation through Citron Research and its social media accounts. He would tell readers to buy or sell a stock and present the call as matching his own position. Readers acted on the call. The stock moved. Left then reversed his own trades to capture the price swing he had just created.

Prosecutors said Left used this method on at least 26 occasions involving about 23 companies. He earned at least $21 million in quick profits from March 2018 through October 2023. In one example cited at trial, Left called a company a "fraud" on CNBC's "Fast Money." He told viewers he had covered only a "small size" of his position. Earlier that same day he had already closed most of it.

The SEC described the same conduct in its civil complaint. The agency said Left and his firm, Citron Capital LLC, defrauded followers through false and misleading statements about his trading. The SEC put the scheme at about $20 million. The SEC also alleged that Left hid a financial relationship between Citron and a hedge fund. According to the agency, he fabricated invoices and routed payments through a third party to conceal the arrangement.

One piece of evidence became the most cited line of the case. In 2018 Left wrote to a confidant that manipulating his followers' trades in Cronos Group, a Toronto-based cannabis company, was "like taking candy from a baby." Prosecutors used the message to argue that Left knew the effect his words had on retail investors.

Charges and Trial

The Department of Justice charged Left on July 25, 2024. The indictment came from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. It contained one count of engaging in a securities fraud scheme, 16 counts of securities fraud, and one count of making false statements to federal investigators. The case was docketed as United States v. Left, 2:24-cr-00456, in the Central District of California. The SEC filed its civil action the same week.

The criminal trial took place in Los Angeles before U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips. It ran for about three weeks. The government's theory turned a common Wall Street practice, public short-selling, into a question of intent. Prosecutors argued that Left crossed the line from market skepticism into fraud when he traded against the very advice he gave the public. The defense argued that Left's commentary was protected opinion and that traders are free to change positions as the market moves.

The jury deliberated for two days. The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the matter. FINRA's Criminal Prosecution Assistance Group provided support.

Conviction and Sentencing

The jury returned its verdict on June 1, 2026. It convicted Left of one count of running a securities fraud scheme and 12 counts of securities fraud. That added up to 13 guilty verdicts out of 17 counts. The jury did not convict on the remaining counts.

Left faces a statutory maximum of 25 years in federal prison on the securities fraud scheme count. Each securities fraud count carries up to 20 years. A sentence near the maximum is unlikely for a first offense, and the final term will depend on the federal sentencing guidelines and the judge's findings. Judge Phillips scheduled sentencing for August 31, 2026. Left remained free pending that hearing.

The conviction drew wide attention in financial circles. Reporters and analysts framed the case as a warning to the activist short-selling industry, where public commentary and private trading often run side by side. Left signaled that he would keep fighting. Speaking to reporters after the verdict, he said the jury "got it wrong" and that the outcome was "not the end of the road," language that pointed toward an appeal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who is Andrew Left?

Andrew Left is an American activist short-seller and the founder of Citron Research, an online investment publication he has run since 2001. He was one of the most prominent short-sellers in the United States and a frequent guest on financial news networks. On June 1, 2026, a federal jury in Los Angeles convicted him of securities fraud.

Q: What was Andrew Left convicted of?

A federal jury convicted Left of one count of running a securities fraud scheme and 12 counts of securities fraud, for a total of 13 guilty verdicts out of 17 counts. Prosecutors said he published stock recommendations to move prices, then traded against his own advice to take roughly $21 million in profits between 2018 and 2023.

Q: What is Citron Research?

Citron Research is an online investment publication founded by Andrew Left in 2001, originally under the name StockLemon.com. Through Citron, Left published reports on companies he claimed were overvalued or fraudulent. Because he is a short-seller, his reports often benefited his own trading positions when target stocks fell.

Q: How much is Andrew Left worth?

No reliable estimate of Andrew Left's net worth has been published by a credible financial source. Prosecutors said his securities fraud scheme generated at least $21 million in profits between March 2018 and October 2023, but that figure reflects the gains from the charged conduct, not his total wealth.

Q: When will Andrew Left be sentenced?

U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips scheduled sentencing for August 31, 2026, in the Central District of California. Left faces a statutory maximum of 25 years in federal prison on the lead count, though the actual sentence will depend on the federal sentencing guidelines.

Q: What was the "candy from a baby" quote?

In a 2018 message to a confidant, Left wrote that manipulating his followers' trades in Cronos Group, a Toronto-based cannabis company, was "like taking candy from a baby." Prosecutors and the SEC used the message to argue that Left understood the effect his published recommendations had on retail investors.