Keith Gill, a Massachusetts investor who gained notoriety and wealth by promoting GameStop Inc. shares, caught the attention of the state’s leading financial regulator, the New York Times reported Thursday.
William Galvin, the Massachusetts secretary of state, became interested after it came to light that Gill was a registered security broker who, according to the report, worked until January 28 as director of financial well-being at an insurance company.
Galvin, the state’s largest financial regulator, sent a letter to MassMutual, Gill’s former employer, asking for details on how the company monitors employees’ unfamiliar business operations and the use of social media, the report said.
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Gill, who has the username “Roaring Kitty” on YouTube and posts under the name “DeepF – ingValue” on the popular Reddit forum WallStreetBets, reportedly earned tens of millions of dollars trading GameStop shares GME,
and options.
The news comes a day after rep. Maxine Waters of California, the Democratic chair of the House Financial Services Committee, told Cheddar TV that Gill will testify on Capitol Hill later this month.
As a registered security broker, Gill runs greater exposure to civil fines than a typical retailer, because the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the self-regulatory body of the security industry, requires brokers to “false” themselves [or] misleading allegations, exaggerated statements and material omissions ”according to the Times on social media.
Finance Minister Janet Yellen will hold a meeting with top federal regulators on Thursday to address the recent volatility in the market around shares heavily promoted on social media, including GameStop GME,
and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. AMC,
Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission is actively investigating social media posts and trading data to see if the posts were part of a joint effort to manipulate the price of these so-called meme shares.