Jonathan Lebed
Jonathan Lebed | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 29, 1984 |
| Nationality | United States |
| Education | Cedar Grove High School[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Owner, Lebed Biz LLC |
| Known for | The first minor prosecuted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |
Jonathan G. Lebed (born September 29, 1984) is an American stock trader prosecuted by the SEC at age 15 for stock manipulation.
In 2010, he was living in Wayne, New Jersey and the sole owner of Lebed Biz LLC, which runs a website touting penny stocks.[3][4] In 2008, a company won a $2.56 million judgment against Lebed.[5]
Early life and education
Lebed was raised in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, attended Cedar Grove High School and did not attend college.[4][1][6]
Legal issues
Lebed was the first minor prosecuted by the SEC.[7][8] Between September 1999 and February 2000, Lebed made hundreds of thousands of dollars from the computer in his bedroom in Cedar Grove, New Jersey by posting in Internet chat rooms and on message boards encouraging people to buy penny stocks he already owned, thus, according to the SEC, artificially raising the price of the stock. Between September 1999 and February 2000, his smallest one-day gain was $12,000 while his biggest was $74,000.[9] The SEC, under Arthur Levitt, prosecuted him. In 2001, Lebed and the SEC negotiated an out-of-court settlement in which Lebed forfeited $285,000 in profit and interest he had made on 11 trades without admitting any wrongdoing — allowing him to keep close to half a million dollars.[10]
Lebed's legal issues were profiled in an episode of the 2001 BBC documentary The Future Just Happened.[11][12]
Politics
In 2003, he ran for Cedar Grove township council and lost.[4][13][14]
References
- ^ a b "Teen Stock Broker Profits from Manipulation". ABC News. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ "This Stock Whiz Kid Stays in the Picture". Businessweek.com. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ Hugh R. Morley (11 April 2011). "Former teen SEC target from Wayne settles $2.56 million judgement". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ a b c Hugh R. Morley (27 June 2010). "Youngest person charged by SEC now in Wayne and in hot water again". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ Hugh R. Morley (15 November 2010). "Texas company seeks to get a receiver appointed to run the Wayne company of former schoolboy stockpicker Lebed". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ Michael Schroeder and Ruth Simon (20 October 2000). "Teenage Stock Manipulator Got Away With Most Trades". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/magazine/25STOCK-TRADER.html
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/21/business/sec-says-teenager-had-after-school-hobby-online-stock-fraud.html
- ^ Lewis, Michael Jonathan Lebed's Extracurricular Activities New York Times. March 17, 2015
- ^ Lewis, Michael. "Jonathan Lebed: Stock Manipulator, S.E.C. Nemesis -- and 15", The New York Times, February 25, 2001. Accessed December 22, 2014. "The S.E.C.'s news release explained that Jonathan -- the first minor ever to face proceedings for stock-market fraud -- had used the Internet to promote stocks from his bedroom in the northern New Jersey suburb of Cedar Grove."
- ^ "The Future Just Happened - The tv series: Amateur vs pro". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ "What's Next for Michael Lewis?". Los Angeles Times. 2001. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/27/nyregion/in-person-no-grass-grows-under-these-feet.html
- ^ "Teenage stock swindler runs for office - May. 12, 2003". CNN. 2003. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
Further reading
- Lewis, Michael (February 25, 2001), "Jonathan Lebed: Stock Manipulator, S.E.C. Nemesis -- and 15", New York Times