Jonathan Lebed
Born (1984-09-29) September 29, 1984 (age 39)
Occupation(s)Owner, Lebed Biz LLC

Jonathan G. Lebed (born September 29, 1984) is an American businessman and former stock trader who reached an out-of-court civil settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at age 15 for stock manipulation.

Early life and education

Lebed was raised in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, and graduated from Cedar Grove High School.[1][2][3]

Career

Between September 1999 and February 2000, Lebed made hundreds of thousands of dollars from using a computer in his bedroom in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, using pump and dump by posting in internet chat rooms and 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 US$12,000, while his biggest was $74,000.[4] Lebed became the first minor prosecuted by the SEC.[5][6] 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.[7]

In 2003, Lebed was an unsuccessful candidate for the Cedar Grove township council.[8][9]

Lebed's legal issues were profiled in an episode of the 2001 BBC documentary The Future Just Happened.[10][11]

In 2010, he was living in Wayne, New Jersey, and was the sole owner of Lebed Biz LLC, which runs a website touting penny stocks.[12][1] In 2008, a company won a $2.56 million judgment against Lebed.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b Hugh R. Morley (27 June 2010). "Youngest person charged by SEC now in Wayne and in hot water again". NorthJersey.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Teen Stock Broker Profits from Manipulation". ABC News. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  3. ^ Michael Schroeder and Ruth Simon (20 October 2000). "Teenage Stock Manipulator Got Away With Most Trades". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  4. ^ Lewis, Michael Jonathan Lebed's Extracurricular Activities New York Times. March 17, 2015
  5. ^ Lewis, Michael (25 February 2001). "Jonathan Lebed's Extracurricular Activities (Published 2001)". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  6. ^ Morgenson, Gretchen (21 September 2000). "S.E.C. Says Teenager Had After-School Hobby: Online Stock Fraud (Published 2000)". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  7. ^ 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."
  8. ^ Strauss, Robert (27 April 2003). "IN PERSON; No Grass Grows Under These Feet (Published 2003)". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Teenage stock swindler runs for office - May. 12, 2003". CNN. 2003. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  10. ^ "The Future Just Happened - The tv series: Amateur vs pro". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  11. ^ "What's Next for Michael Lewis?". Los Angeles Times. 2001. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  12. ^ Hugh R. Morley (11 April 2011). "Former teen SEC target from Wayne settles $2.56 million judgement". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  13. ^ 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.

Further reading

External links

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