The Feature

Jonathan Lebed's Extracurricular Activities

for The New York Times

On Sept. 20, 2000, the Securities and Exchange Commission settled its case against a 15-year-old high-school student named Jonathan Lebed. 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. Armed only with accounts at A.O.L. and E*Trade, the kid had bought stock and then, ”using multiple fictitious names,” posted hundreds of messages on Yahoo Finance message boards recommending that stock to others.