Prominent activist short seller Andrew Left and his fund Citron Capital have been charged by US authorities, alleging he has for years manipulated the market and defrauded investors with misleading claims about his positions in stocks including Nvidia and Tesla.

The Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission said on Friday (Saturday AEST) that Mr Left used his social media platform and cable news appearances to promote what he said were his long or short trades, only to quickly reverse his positions, making as much as $US20 million ($30.5 million) in the process.

Reuters