Keith Gill, a Massachusetts investor who found fame and wealth by promoting shares of GameStop Inc., caught the attention of the state’s top financial regulator, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
William Galvin, the Massachusetts community secretary, became interested after it was revealed that Gill is a registered securities broker who worked as director of financial welfare education at an insurance company until January 28, according to the report.
Galvin, the state’s top financial regulator, sent a letter to MassMutual, Gill’s former employer, asking for details on how the company monitors employees’ undisclosed business activities and the use of social media, the report said.
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Gill, who goes by the username “Roaring Kitty” on YouTube and posts under the nickname “DeepF – ingValue” on the popular Reddit WallStreetBets forum, reportedly earned tens of millions of dollars by trading GameStop GME shares,
and options.
The news comes a day after Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California, the Democratic chairman of the House’s Financial Services Committee, told Cheddar TV that Gill would testify on Capitol Hill later this month.
As a registered securities broker, Gill is at greater risk of exposure to civil penalties than a typical retail trader because the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the securities industry’s self-regulatory body, requires brokers to avoid doing ” [or] misleading allegations, exaggerated statements and material omissions ”on social media, according to the Times.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is due to hold a meeting on Thursday with key federal regulators to address the recent market volatility around stocks that have been heavily promoted on social media, including GameStop GME,
and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. AMC,
Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission is actively investigating publications on social media, along with trading data, to see if the publications are part of a concerted effort to manipulate the price of so-called meme stocks.