Jobs heart attack iReport from teen

SEC investigation suggests stock drop not the motive

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24 October 2008 15:27 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

The SEC has apparently discovered that the fake internet news report suggesting Apple chief Steve Jobs had suffered a major heart attack was from a teenager.

Two people with "knowledge of the matter" have revealed that the US Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the event has not suggested the 18-year-old did it to profit from lowered Apple stock prices.

The brief article, which was published on CNN's iReport.com citizen news site sent Apple shares down as much as 5.4% percent, reducing Apple's market value by $4.8 billion on October 3.

This does not mean that the errant teen, who posted the report under the name "Johntw" is out of the woods as far as the long arm of the law goes, however:

"If the posting wasn't directly related to the purchase or sale of a security it's questionable the SEC would have jurisdiction. That's not to say some other agency of the US government couldn't take action if it felt a law was violated," Michael Missal, a Washington lawyer told Bloomberg.