# Jonathan Lebed > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jonathan_Lebed > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jonathan_Lebed.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Lebed > Source revision: 1354201476 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Jonathan G. Lebed** (born September 29, 1984) is an American businessman and former [stock trader](/source/Stock_trader) who reached an out-of-court civil settlement with the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission](/source/U.S._Securities_and_Exchange_Commission) (SEC) at age 15 for [stock manipulation](/source/Stock_manipulation). ## Early life and education Lebed was raised in [Cedar Grove, New Jersey](/source/Cedar_Grove,_New_Jersey), and graduated from [Cedar Grove High School](/source/Cedar_Grove_High_School_(New_Jersey)).[1][2][3] ## Career Between September 1999 and February 2000, Lebed made hundreds of thousands of dollars from a computer in his bedroom in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, using [pump and dump](/source/Pump_and_dump) by posting in internet chat rooms and message boards, encouraging people to buy [penny stocks](/source/Penny_stock) 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.[4] Lebed became the first minor prosecuted by the SEC.[5][6] 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.[7] In 2003, Lebed was an unsuccessful candidate for the Cedar Grove township council.[8][9] Lebed's legal issues were profiled in an episode of the 2001 [BBC](/source/BBC) documentary *The Future Just Happened*.[10][11] In 2010, he was living in [Wayne, New Jersey](/source/Wayne,_New_Jersey), and was the sole owner of Lebed Biz LLC, which runs a website touting penny stocks.[12][1] In 2008, a company won a $2.56 million judgment against Lebed.[13] ## References 1. Hugh R. Morley (27 June 2010). ["Youngest person charged by SEC now in Wayne and in hot water again"](http://www.northjersey.com/news/still-touting-stocks-1.940690?page=all). *[NorthJersey.com](/source/NorthJersey.com)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20151205133740/http://www.northjersey.com/news/still-touting-stocks-1.940690) 5 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 September 2015. 1. ["Teen Stock Broker Profits from Manipulation"](https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=88547). *[ABC News](/source/ABC_News_(United_States))*. Retrieved 11 September 2015. 1. Michael Schroeder and Ruth Simon (20 October 2000). ["Teenage Stock Manipulator Got Away With Most Trades"](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB971989394525288204). *[Wall Street Journal](/source/Wall_Street_Journal)*. Retrieved 11 September 2015. 1. Lewis, Michael [Jonathan Lebed's Extracurricular Activities](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/magazine/jonathan-lebed-s-extracurricular-activities.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm) *New York Times*. March 17, 2015 1. Lewis, Michael (25 February 2001). ["Jonathan Lebed's Extracurricular Activities (Published 2001)"](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/magazine/25STOCK-TRADER.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved 7 January 2021. 1. Morgenson, Gretchen (21 September 2000). ["S.E.C. Says Teenager Had After-School Hobby: Online Stock Fraud (Published 2000)"](https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/21/business/sec-says-teenager-had-after-school-hobby-online-stock-fraud.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved 7 January 2021. 1. Lewis, Michael. ["Jonathan Lebed: Stock Manipulator, S.E.C. Nemesis -- and 15"](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/magazine/25STOCK-TRADER.html?pagewanted=all), *[The New York Times](/source/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." 1. Strauss, Robert (27 April 2003). ["IN PERSON; No Grass Grows Under These Feet (Published 2003)"](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/27/nyregion/in-person-no-grass-grows-under-these-feet.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved 7 January 2021. 1. ["Teenage stock swindler runs for office - May. 12, 2003"](https://web.archive.org/web/20030628003228/http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/12/pf/investing/teenage_stockswindler/). *[CNN](/source/CNN)*. 2003. Archived from [the original](https://money.cnn.com/2003/05/12/pf/investing/teenage_stockswindler/) on June 28, 2003. Retrieved 11 September 2015. 1. ["The Future Just Happened - The tv series: Amateur vs pro"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/programmes/2001/future/tv_series_1.stm). *bbc.co.uk*. Retrieved 11 September 2015. 1. ["What's Next for Michael Lewis?"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-aug-08-cl-31629-story.html). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. 2001. Retrieved 11 September 2015. 1. Hugh R. Morley (11 April 2011). ["Former teen SEC target from Wayne settles $2.56 million judgement"](http://www.northjersey.com/news/wayne-financial-adviser-settles-2-56m-judgment-1.914114). *[NorthJersey.com](/source/NorthJersey.com)*. Retrieved 11 September 2015. 1. Hugh R. Morley (15 November 2010). ["Texas company seeks to get a receiver appointed to run the Wayne company of former schoolboy stockpicker Lebed"](http://www.northjersey.com/news/creditor-sues-for-assets-of-n-j-stock-promoter-1.920025). *[NorthJersey.com](/source/NorthJersey.com)*. Retrieved 11 September 2015. ## Further reading - Lewis, Michael (February 25, 2001), ["Jonathan Lebed: Stock Manipulator, S.E.C. Nemesis -- and 15"](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/magazine/25STOCK-TRADER.html?pagewanted=all), *New York Times* ## External links - [CBS News, "Pump and Dump"](https://web.archive.org/web/20020605022829/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/10/19/60minutes/main242489.shtml) - [S.E.C. Desist order September 20, 2000](https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/33-7891.htm) - [S.E.C. Press release September 20, 2000](https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2000-135.txt) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jonathan Lebed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Lebed) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Lebed?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.