Wilmington GameStop Trader Keith Gill Hit With Class Action Suit

WILMINGTON, MA — Wilmington GameStop trader Keith Gill faces a class action lawsuit over his involvement in the company's wild January price fluctuations.

A lawsuit against Gill and his former employer MassMutual was filed in federal court in Massachusetts Tuesday by Hagens Berman.

Gill began investing in Gamestop in June 2019 and became famous for his Reddit and Youtube posts about the stock when the stock's price exploded in late-January. The lawsuit alleges that Gill misled investors by presenting himself as an amateur, even though he was a registered broker working for MassMutual as a "financial wellness educator."

"In order to disguise that the aim of his social-media campaign was simply to increase the worth of his GameStop shares by creating a demand for the stock, Gill took on the fake persona of an amateur, everyday fellow, who simply was looking out for the little guy," the complaint reads. "He incited a market frenzy by advocating revenge on the big hedge funds by buying GameStop shares to drive up the price and “squeeze” short sellers who would be forced to cover their short positions at greatly inflated prices."

Gill, 34, is known on YouTube as Roaring Kitty and on Reddit by the expletive-laced handle DeepF-------Value.

The lawsuit claims that those who purchased GameStop shares at the height of the frenzy, when it reached nearly $500 per share, have Gill to blame. So too do those who bet against the stock, it argues.

"He caused enormous losses not only to those who bought option contracts, but also to those who fell for Gill’s act and bought GameStop stock during the market frenzy at greatly inflated prices," they wrote.

The lead plaintiff is Christian Iovin, a Washington state resident who bought options contracts "during the relevant period." Iovin sold call options — betting against the stock — and incurred "substantial loses."

In his testimony before Congress Thursday, Gill defended his advocacy of the videogame retailer, reiterating his argument that the company has better prospects than its price had implied.

"I believed the company was dramatically undervalued by the market," Gill said. "The prevailing analysis about GameStop’s impending doom was simply wrong."

He also defended himself against charges of market manipulation.

"The idea that I used social media to promote GameStop stock to unwitting investors and influence the market is preposterous," Gill said. "My posts did not cause the movement of billions of dollars into GameStop shares."

The lawsuit also accuses MassMutual of failing to supervise Gill. Gill faces a related inquiry from a Massachusetts regulator, which is investigating whether he should have told his employer about his trading activities.

The complaint asks for "damages ... sustained as a result of Gill’s manipulative activity."

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.