The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) announced on Thursday that it’s seeking a cease-trade order against renowned short-seller Marc Cohodes, alleging he made misleading claims about a company, Badger Daylighting Ltd., while shorting its stock.
The ASC will hold a hearing on Aug. 15 to consider an application from ASC staff seeking an order requiring Cohodes to cease trading the securities of Badger and to prohibit him from disseminating misleading or untrue statements about the firm.
According to the ASC’s application, it intends to argue that Cohodes has made misleading public claims about the firm that coincides with his short position in the company. For example, it says that he “misrepresented on social media a picture of a Badger truck as support for his allegation of illegal toxic dumping” on June 27.
In doing so, the regulator alleges that he has violated securities rules and that he represents “a threat to the integrity of the capital market in Alberta and its investing public, warranting protective action in the public interest.”
The allegations have not been proven.