Gamestop Corporation (GME)

[janice shell]

I don't think the company's a scam, but I certainly think the stock's been hyped as if it were one. And the hype does have some things in common with what Jerry Williams did, especially the emphasis on squeezing the shorts, and "locking the float".

All that was illegal, and Williams--known as "Monk"--was sued by the SEC. He was eventually ordered to pay more than $9.6 million in fines and disgorgement.

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2014/lr22928.htm

Monk, of course, acted in concert with the CEOs of some of the companies he chose as "float lock" plays. There's no indication that's the case with Gamestop. But it is clear that the SEC is interested in what it calls the "gamification" of trading in the "meme stocks".

So far, the Commission has done little more than issue a report about what happened, but there's no doubt more to come:

https://www.sec.gov/files/staff-report-equity-options-market-struction-conditions-early-2021.pdf