Carson Block Sues Ex-Researcher Over SEC Whistle-Blower Claims

Carson Block hit back at a former researcher suing him for a share of a $14 million Securities and Exchange Commission whistle-blower award, calling Kevin Barnes’s claims “meritless” in his own lawsuit.

The short seller on Thursday sued Barnes for defamation in federal court in Texas, saying the latter had lied to reporters and in legal filings about his role in a 2011 report alleging financial fraud at China-based Focus Media that led to an SEC enforcement action. Block said Barnes’s claims have delayed payment of the award.

Barnes “has conducted a concerted media defamation campaign against Mr. Block in ...