Hedge Fund Settles At $2.25M With SEC For Exposed Short Seller Deal, 2 Cannabis Stocks Affected
Anson Funds agreed to a $2.25 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over a secret relationship with a short seller affecting two cannabis companies. The SEC found that while Anson Funds disclosed its short position strategy to investors, it did not reveal its collaboration with an activist short publisher, which remains undisclosed.
The Scheme
The SEC detailed that Anson Funds would establish a short position before the release of negative reports by the short seller, reported Bloomberg. These reports often led to a decrease in the target companies’ stock prices, allowing Anson Funds to profit from the drop. The events happened in 2018, and the involved cannabis companies included Namaste Technologies Inc. (now Lifeist Wellness Inc.) (OTC:LFSWD) and India Globalization Capital (now IGC Pharma …