Rev. Father Emmanuel Lemelson and Lemelson Capital Mgmt., LLC v. Securities and Exchange Commission

Shelburn, VT (August 1, 2023) – Whistleblower and activist investor Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson (Lemelson) has filed for a writ of certiorari in Lemelson, et al. v. SEC, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to grant his petition in an unprecedented nine-year legal battle with the SEC over Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: LGND).

To access the full writ of certiorari, click here or see on Scribd below.

This follows a November 2021 federal jury trial that cleared Lemelson of all fraud charges that were alleged by the SEC in a baseless 2018 complaint.

“The Supreme Court must uphold its legacy of safeguarding First Amendment rights.”  Said Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson.  “The SEC’s concerted effort to use litigation to "silence" a whistleblower, fueled in part by inappropriate lobbying and prosecutors bent on ignoring the Constitution, is utterly shameful,” Lemelson added.

The 2021 federal jury specifically found that Fr. Lemelson did not “intentionally or recklessly engage in a scheme to defraud, or any act, practice, or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit.” The jury also determined that he did not defraud his own investors, even under a lower negligence standard, and that his harshest statements about Ligand’s insolvency were not untrue.

Lemelson, in 2014, issued five critical reports and gave several interviews about Ligand, making hundreds of allegations, including business, accounting, and securities fraud against the company and filing five whistleblower reports. His criticism proved prescient as Ligand’s stock price subsequently fell precipitously.

Lemelson continued publicly criticizing Ligand and the SEC (for their inaction on what he called “The Ligand Fraud”) through 2018, including publishing two open letters to Congress.

For its part, Ligand quietly enlisted a former high-ranking SEC official and a sitting US Congressman (who was later criminally indicted) to “lean on” the SEC to investigate, using baseless allegations against Lemelson. In trial testimony, John Higgins, the former CEO of Ligand, acknowledged that the company's executives wanted Lemelson “silenced for good.”

Eventually, the SEC charged Lemelson with fraud in 2018. Although a jury rejected all of SEC’s fraud allegations, it found that one sentence and one sentence fragment, about a different company that he didn’t trade in, and embedded in his 56 pages of written reports and one two-second comment in an online interview were purportedly misleading.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts then held Fr. Lemelson liable for violating the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5. It fined Fr. Lemelson $160,000 and barred him from making similar statements for five years.

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About Lemelson Capital Mangement, LLC and Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson

Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson is a Greek-Orthodox Priest, whistleblower, activist investor, and CIO of Lemelson Capital Management, LLC, a private investment management firm focused on deep value and special situation investments.

Follow LCM on Twitter @LemelsonCapital - Follow Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson on Twitter @Lemelson
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Media and Public Relations Contact

Lemelson Capital Management, LLC
Investor and Media Relations
Telephone: 802-332-3833

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Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson ... by amvona

H1 2023 net returns of 221.51 percent

Shelburne, Vermont, July 13, 2023 —Lemelson Capital Management, LLC (LCM), today announced financial results for H1 2023.  In the first half ended June 30, 2023, performance was 221.51 percent net of all fees and expenses based on preliminary unaudited results.¹  The S&P 500 TR (the "benchmark"), which includes the reinvestment of dividends, returned 16.89 percent during the same period. 

"We concluded H1 2023 with better than average returns and have significant additional gains in early Q3, 2023," said Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson, Chief Investment Officer, LCM. "However, H1 2023 results were an outlier, and are unlikely to be repeated in the future," Lemelson cautioned.

Lemelson Capital Management To Host H1 2023 Investor Conference Call On July 14, 2023

Please note that The Fund is currently closed to new investors.  

There are a limited number of lines available. This call is expected to be oversubscribed.
Call-in details will be provided upon registration approval.

Q1 2023 net returns of 218 percent

Shelburne, Vermont, April 11, 2023 —Lemelson Capital Management, LLC (LCM), today announced financial results for Q1 2023.  In the quarter ending March 31, 2023, performance was 218 percent net of all fees and expenses based on preliminary unaudited results.¹  The S&P 500 TR (the "benchmark"), which includes the reinvestment of dividends, returned 7.5 percent during the same period. 

"We concluded Q1 2023 with better than average returns and are satisfied with our long-term performance," said Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson, Chief Investment Officer, LCM. "However, Q1 2023 was an outlier, and Investors should not expect this sort of performance in the future," Lemelson cautioned.

Lemelson Capital Management To Host Q1 2023 Investor Conference Call On April 12, 2023

Please note that The Fund is currently closed to new investors.  

There are a limited number of lines available. This call is expected to be oversubscribed.
Call-in details will be provided upon registration approval.

Lemelson Capital Management To Host Q4 2022 Investor Conference Call On January 18, 2023

To receive a copy of an investor presentation or to submit questions in advance, please contact investor relations at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This call is for existing partners and prospective (qualified) investors only.
There are a limited number of lines available. This call is expected to be oversubscribed.
Call-in details will be provided upon registration approval.

Lemelson Capital Management To Host Q3 2022 Investor Conference Call On October 21, 2022

To receive a copy of an investor presentation or to submit questions in advance, please contact investor relations at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This call is for existing partners and prospective (qualified) investors only.
There are a limited number of lines available. This call is expected to be oversubscribed.
Call-in details will be provided upon registration approval.

Father Emmanuel joined the Invezz Podcast this week, sitting down with Dan Ashmore to discuss his background, short-selling, and inflation. After his prescient and highly publicized WWE short, Lemelson discusses why he believes “shorting is a terrible investment” despite his success as a short-seller.  Lemelson also covers monetary policy, economic inequality, the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan, and much more.

Today World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) said in an SEC filing that its quarterly report for the period ending June 30, 2022, will be filed late, noting additional previously unrecorded payments made by its former CEO Vince McMahon amid the company's investigation of allegations of misconduct.  

In the filing, the company said that since it had previously determined payments of $14.6M made by McMahon (between 2006 and 2022) were not appropriately recorded, its learned of two additional, improperly recorded payments totaling $5M (also made by McMahon), bringing the total to $19.6M in unrecorded expenses.   The company also said it will revise previous financial statements for multiple years.

On June 17, 2022, World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) CEO Vince McMahon stepped away from his duties as the company's board investigated allegations of misconduct.  According to The Wall Street Journal, McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.’s longtime leader, agreed to pay more than $12 million over the past 16 years to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.  On July 22, 2020, McMahon "retired" amid ongoing probes into the alleged misconduct.   

Almost two years earlier, on January 31, 2020, Forbes reported that WWE had fired its co-presidents, including George Barrios.

About eight years earlier, on March 17, 2014, and again on April 8, 2014, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson authored and published analysis that WWE was substantially overvalued and should be shorted. Lemelson's analysis was credited by USA Today, The Street, Seeking Alpha, and other major media outlets with an $800 million drop in the market capitalization of the stock between March 18 and April 20, 2014. 

On May 16, 2014, following a $1.4 billion (63 percent) loss in WWE's market capitalization since Lemelson's initial March 17, 2014, short call, Lemelson announced that he had reversed his short position and was now long WWE stock. Simultaneously, Lemelson called for the replacement of WWE's executive management team or a sale of the company.  This followed what Lemelson said was "a period of ongoing losses, execution failures, and material misstatements."

On July 25, 2022, CNBC reported that The company expects to conclude that its “internal control over financial reporting was not effective as a result of one or more material weaknesses.”

Read more history on Lemelson Capital management here

Disclosure: Lemelson Capital Management is short shares of WWE for its clients

In '14 @Lemelson called for the ouster of @VinceMcMahon amid what he called "material misstatements" $WWE now says there is $19.6M in unrecorded exp's between '06 + '22 made by McMahon + will restate several yrs of financials#CorpGov #WWE #Activistshortshttps://t.co/pXTVRqFJTA

— Lemelson Capital (@LemelsonCapital) August 10, 2022

On June 17, 2022, World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) CEO Vince McMahon stepped away from his duties as the company's board investigated allegations of misconduct.  According to The Wall Street Journal, McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.’s longtime leader, agreed to pay more than $12 million over the past 16 years to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.  On July 22, 2020, McMahon "retired" amid ongoing probes into the alleged misconduct.   

Almost two years earlier, on January 31, 2020, Forbes reported that WWE had fired its co-presidents, including George Barrios.

About eight years earlier, on March 17, 2014, and again on April 8, 2014, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson authored and published analysis that WWE was substantially overvalued and should be shorted. Lemelson's analysis was credited by USA Today, The Street, Seeking Alpha, and other major media outlets with an $800 million drop in the market capitalization of the stock between March 18 and April 20, 2014. 

On May 16, 2014, following a $1.4 billion (63 percent) loss in WWE's market capitalization since Lemelson's initial March 17, 2014, short call, Lemelson announced that he had reversed his short position and was now long WWE stock. Simultaneously, Lemelson called for the replacement of WWE's executive management team or a sale of the company.  This followed what Lemelson said was "a period of ongoing losses, execution failures, and material misstatements."

On July 25, 2022, CNBC reported that The company expects to conclude that its “internal control over financial reporting was not effective as a result of one or more material weaknesses.”

Read the full history here:  https://lemelsoncapital.com/history 

Long time coming. In '14 @Lemelson said $WWE management had to go (in '20 co-presidents, including Barrios, were fired). Read history at https://t.co/9eaUFg9uaE https://t.co/q7k10Tlga4#WWE #VinceMcMahon

@Spus @Benzinga @SeekingAlpha @IKrietzberg @joe_palazzolo @JBFlint

— Lemelson Capital (@LemelsonCapital) July 13, 2022

Lemelson Capital Management To Host Q2 2022 Investor Conference Call On July 15, 2022

To receive a copy of an investor presentation or to submit questions in advance, please contact investor relations at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This call is for existing partners and prospective (qualified) investors only.
There are a limited number of lines available. This call is expected to be oversubscribed.
Call-in details will be provided upon registration approval.

Lemelson Capital Management To Host Q1 2022 Investor Conference Call On April 15, 2022

To receive a copy of an investor presentation or to submit questions in advance, please contact investor relations at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This call is for existing partners and prospective (qualified) investors only.
There are a limited number of lines available. This call is expected to be oversubscribed.
Call-in details will be provided upon registration approval.

January 2022 net returns of 49.12 percent

Shelburne, Vermont, February 10, 2022, (Access Newswire) —Lemelson Capital Management, LLC (LCM), today announced returns for January 2022. 

In the month ending January 31, 2022, The Spruce Peak Fund LP's (SPF) performance was 49.12 percent net of all fees and expenses based on preliminary unaudited results.¹ The S&P 500 TR (the "benchmark"), which includes the reinvestment of dividends, returned minus (-5.17) percent during the same period. 

"We concluded January 2022 with better than average returns," said Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson, Chief Investment Officer, LCM “However, these returns are outliers, and Investors should not expect this sort of performance in the future," Lemelson concluded.

In 2021 Lemelson Capital Management posted combined returns of 56.05 percent net of all fees and expenses.²  The benchmark, S&P 500 TR returned 28.72 percent during the same period.

Lemelson Capital Management To Host January 2022 Investor Conference Call On February 11, 2022

To receive a copy of an investor presentation or to submit questions in advance, please contact investor relations at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This call is for existing partners and prospective (qualified) investors only.
There are a limited number of lines available. This call is expected to be oversubscribed.
Call-in details will be provided upon registration approval.

Short and long positions contribute to FYE 2021 combined¹ net returns of 56 percent.  Estimated MTD January 2022 net returns over 30 percent.²

Shelburne, Vermont, January 14, 2022, (Access Newswire) —Lemelson Capital Management, LLC (LCM), today announced financial results for FYE 2021.  The firm posted combined net returns of 56.05 percent for FYE 2021, comparing favorably against the benchmark S&P 500 Total Return Index,³ which returned 28.72 percent during the same period. 

As of January 13, 2022, estimated MTD net returns exceed 30 percent net of all fees and expenses.

"We concluded 2021 with a better than average rate of return and kicked off January 2022 with strong returns," said Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson, Chief Investment Officer. "Notably, Generac Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GNRC), Revolve Group, Inc. (NYSE: RVLV) and Trex Company Inc (NYSE: TREX) contributed to our returns on the short side, while Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (NYSE BRK.B) First American Financial (NYSE: FAF), and Progressive Insurance (NYSE: PGR) which we are long, performed well," Lemelson continued.  "However, investors should not expect these sorts of returns in the future," Lemelson cautioned.