Jonathan Lebed
{{Short description|American businessman}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jonathan Lebed
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1984|9|29}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
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| other_names =
| occupation = 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.{{cite web |author=Hugh R. Morley |date=27 June 2010 |title=Youngest person charged by SEC now in Wayne and in hot water again |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/still-touting-stocks-1.940690?page=all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151205133740/http://www.northjersey.com/news/still-touting-stocks-1.940690 |archive-date=5 December 2015 |accessdate=11 September 2015 |work=NorthJersey.com}}{{cite web |title=Teen Stock Broker Profits from Manipulation |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=88547 |accessdate=11 September 2015 |work=ABC News}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB971989394525288204|title=Teenage Stock Manipulator Got Away With Most Trades|author=Michael Schroeder and Ruth Simon|date=20 October 2000|work=Wall Street Journal|accessdate=11 September 2015}}
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.Lewis, Michael [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/magazine/jonathan-lebed-s-extracurricular-activities.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm Jonathan Lebed's Extracurricular Activities] New York Times. March 17, 2015 Lebed became the first minor prosecuted by the SEC.{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Michael |title=Jonathan Lebed's Extracurricular Activities (Published 2001) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/magazine/25STOCK-TRADER.html |access-date=7 January 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=25 February 2001}}{{cite news |last1=Morgenson |first1=Gretchen |title=S.E.C. Says Teenager Had After-School Hobby: Online Stock Fraud (Published 2000) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/21/business/sec-says-teenager-had-after-school-hobby-online-stock-fraud.html |access-date=7 January 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=21 September 2000}} 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.Lewis, Michael. [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/magazine/25STOCK-TRADER.html?pagewanted=all "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."
In 2003, Lebed was an unsuccessful candidate for the Cedar Grove township council.{{cite news |last1=Strauss |first1=Robert |title=IN PERSON; No Grass Grows Under These Feet (Published 2003) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/27/nyregion/in-person-no-grass-grows-under-these-feet.html |access-date=7 January 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=27 April 2003}}{{cite web|date=2003|title=Teenage stock swindler runs for office - May. 12, 2003|url=https://money.cnn.com/2003/05/12/pf/investing/teenage_stockswindler/|accessdate=11 September 2015|work=CNN}}
Lebed's legal issues were profiled in an episode of the 2001 BBC documentary The Future Just Happened.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/programmes/2001/future/tv_series_1.stm|title=The Future Just Happened - The tv series: Amateur vs pro|work=bbc.co.uk|accessdate=11 September 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-aug-08-cl-31629-story.html|title=What's Next for Michael Lewis?|work=Los Angeles Times|date=2001|access-date=11 September 2015}}
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.{{cite web|author=Hugh R. Morley|date=11 April 2011|title=Former teen SEC target from Wayne settles $2.56 million judgement|url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/wayne-financial-adviser-settles-2-56m-judgment-1.914114|accessdate=11 September 2015|work=NorthJersey.com}} In 2008, a company won a $2.56 million judgment against Lebed.{{cite web|author=Hugh R. Morley|date=15 November 2010|title=Texas company seeks to get a receiver appointed to run the Wayne company of former schoolboy stockpicker Lebed|url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/creditor-sues-for-assets-of-n-j-stock-promoter-1.920025|accessdate=11 September 2015|work=NorthJersey.com}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{Citation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/magazine/25STOCK-TRADER.html?pagewanted=all |title=Jonathan Lebed: Stock Manipulator, S.E.C. Nemesis -- and 15 |last=Lewis |first=Michael |date=February 25, 2001 |newspaper=New York Times}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20020605022829/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/10/19/60minutes/main242489.shtml CBS News, "Pump and Dump"]
- [https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/33-7891.htm S.E.C. Desist order September 20, 2000]
- [https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2000-135.txt S.E.C. Press release September 20, 2000]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebed, Jonathan}}
Category:American stock traders
Category:Cedar Grove High School (New Jersey) alumni
Category:People from Cedar Grove, New Jersey