Aristides Capital Takes On Energous (WATT) At Short Selling Conference

From his home in Ottawa Hills, Ohio, just outside Toledo, Christopher Brown thinks he can smell a potential fraud all the way in San Jose, CA. The portfolio manager at Aristides Capital, with $91 million under management in a Long / Short strategy, took to the stage at a New York short selling conference Thursday and challenged claims of a Silicon Valley technology company.

Energous is a tech startup founded in 2012 that made headlines when its “Watt Up” power at a distance charging device received approval from the Federal Communications Commission this past December. The company claims it allows users to charge a cell phone without plugging into...