Markets and Influencers

GameStop Manipulation? Legal action in New York against influencer Keith Gill

Roaring Kitty sued for allegedly orchestrating a 'pump and dump' scheme involving GameStop stock

1 July 2024

2' min read

The class action lawsuit for market manipulation against famous stock influencer Keith Gill has arrived. The 'meme' headliner, better known as 'Roaring Kitty', is being sued for allegedly orchestrating a 'pump and dump' scheme involving GameStop shares.

Swirling rallies and thudding on Wall Street

Gill, who rose to fame by promoting GameStop during the 2021 'meme' craze, resurfaced in May and began posting about the games retailer again on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

In a proposed class action filed Friday in Brooklyn, New York, federal court, GameStop shareholder Martin Radev says Gill was trying to manipulate the stock for his own gain. Gill did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

One million followers

Gill's posts from 13 May onwards promoted a 180% increase in GameStop shares. On 2 June, he revealed that he owned 5 million GameStop shares and 120,000 call options that would expire on 21 June. By 13 June, Gill's holdings had risen to over 9 million GameStop shares with no call options outstanding.

Gill has become one of the public faces of the meme frenzy, amassing more than a million followers on her YouTube channel 'Roaring Kitty' and Reddit page

GameStop rose more than 1,700% in January 2021, and the stock's stratospheric rise seemed to pit fragmented individual investors against sophisticated hedge funds that were heavily selling the struggling mall retailer.

On Monday, Chewy Inc. shares rose as much as 10 per cent after Gill disclosed a 6.6 per cent passive stake in the online pet food and pet products retailer. Now, however, it may be time for a GameStop: the open case is called Radev v. Gill, 24-cv-04608, United States District Court, Eastern District of New York.