Andrew Edward Left, born July 9, 1970, in Detroit, Michigan, is an activist short seller, author, and founder of Citron Research, originally launched as StockLemon.com in 2001 and rebranded in 2007.[1][2][3] He began his finance career in 1995, initially serving as president and CEO of Detour Media in 1999 before focusing full-time on short selling overvalued or allegedly fraudulent companies through detailed, publicly available reports.[2][3] Left gained prominence for Citron Research's investigative reports, including 51 against S&P 500 firms between 2009 and 2015, targeting issues like pyramid schemes, ineffective products, accounting irregularities, and business frauds, often involving Chinese companies.[2][3] A Wall Street Journal analysis of 111 Citron reports from 2001 to 2014 found an average 42% share-price decline in the following year.[4] Notable targets included Valeant Pharmaceuticals in 2015, dubbed the "pharmaceutical Enron," which drew widespread scrutiny.[6] Left appeared frequently on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business, earning the nickname "The Bounty Hunter of Wall Street" from The New York Times in 2017, and keynoted at Harvard Business School Investment Conferences in 2017 and 2018.[2][3][7] In 2016, Hong Kong's Market Misconduct Tribunal banned him for five years over a report on Evergrande Group, citing misleading information.[2] In 2021, he shifted Citron from short-selling reports to long-side opportunities.[4] As of 2025, Left remains active, sharing bullish views on firms like Databricks and new short positions on Fox Business, with recent calls proving accurate.[6][7] However, in a major development, the U.S. Department of Justice charged him with one count of securities fraud scheme, 17 counts of securities fraud, and related offenses, alleging he concealed Citron's ties to a hedge fund, fabricated invoices, and misled the public and law enforcement about conflicts of interest.[5] Left claims consistent profits since starting short selling and no losses in U.S. lawsuits.[3][4] He resides in Coral Springs, Florida.[1]