Publisher of Jobs Obituary Outs Jobs Heart Attack Rumor Writer

So that fraudulent “citizen journalism” report claiming Apple CEO Steve Jobs had been rushed to the hospital with severe chest pains and shortness of breath? The one that allegedly shaved about $4.8 billion off Apple’s market value after Silicon Alley Insider picked it up and published without verifying it? Securities and Exchange Commission investigators have tracked down its author and it’s not the short seller many had expected. It’s an 18-year-old with no clear motive, according to Bloomberg (ironically, the source of the Jobs obituary accidentally posted to news wires in late August). Which means the SEC may not have a case. “If the posting wasn’t directly related to the purchase or sale of a security, it’s questionable the SEC would have jurisdiction,” Michael Missal, a former enforcement lawyer told Bloomberg. “That’s not to say some other agency of the U.S. government couldn’t take action if it felt a law was violated.”