WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Short-selling, the practice of seeking to profit off bets that a stock will fall, is a key focus for U.S. prosecutors, and there will be more activity by the Justice Department in coming months, a top department official said on Wednesday.
The recent rout in shares of U.S. regional banks brought fresh scrutiny by criminal prosecutors and regulators of short sellers, who had previously come under review in the wake of the “meme stock” craze of 2021, Reuters and other media outlets have reported.
But remarks on Wednesday by the chief of the Justice Department fraud section’s market integrity team was the first time that a DOJ official has talked openly about this relatively new area of focus.
finance.yahoo.com/news/us-action-short-sellers-likely-190447718.html