, Columnist
Securities Fraud Was Lurking in the Orca Pool
SeaWorld lied about "Blackfish." When it confessed, the stock dropped.
This post originally appeared in Money Stuff.
If a captive killer whale, stressed by the conditions of its captivity, kills its trainer, is that securities fraud? Sure! Everything is securities fraud! I mean, the Securities and Exchange Commission will not ban the whale from the securities industry. But if someone makes a film alleging that conditions at SeaWorld parks cause stress on killer whales that leads them to lash out at trainers, and if that documentary damages SeaWorld’s brand and causes a drop in revenue, and if SeaWorld downplays the effect of the film on revenue, then sure, why not, securities fraud: