Harvey Pitt, former chairman of the SEC, was appointed Tuesday as a deputy attorney general for Alabama. According to the Press Register, Pitt has agreed to an unpaid position in which he will help Alabama investigate possible naked short selling abuses, and will focus on a case involving Montgomery-based Colonial BancGroup, which has seen its shares plummet under pressure from short sellers.
The investigation reportedly is looking into whether some of the short sellers illegally spread lies and malicious rumors in order to manipulate the stock price.