Short seller Andrew Left surrenders on securities fraud charges in L.A., due in court

The activist short seller Andrew Left surrendered in Los Angeles on Monday to face federal criminal securities fraud charges, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office there said.

Left, 54, is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver in U.S. District Court in L.A. at 4:30 p.m. ET, where the Citron Capital hedge fund boss is expected to be released after bail conditions are set by Oliver.

Left's lawyer, James Spertus, told CNBC on Monday that prosecutors had demanded Left surrender Monday, and that the U.S. Attorney's Office originally intended to request a $10 million cash deposit for his bail.

"Then they wanted several million dollars," Spertus said.

"It doesn't make any sense," the defense lawyer said, arguing that Left is not a flight risk, or a danger to the community and that there are no victims in the case.

"This should be Mr. Left released on his own recognizance," Spertus said. "There's no reason for any bond in this case."

Left, who lives in Florida, was indicted last week on 19 criminal counts by a grand jury.

He is accused of using his public platform, which included social media posts on X and appearances on CNBC, to make illegal profits of at least $16 million by manipulating stock market activity and trading in a way that was contrary to the positions he publicly purported to take.

Left is also being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which in a civil complaint filed last week in L.A. federal court accused him and Citron of "engaging in a $20 million multi-year scheme to defraud followers by "publishing false and misleading statements regarding his supposed stock trading recommendations."

"Left bragged to colleagues that some of these statements [he made] were especially effective at