YouTuber ‘Roaring Kitty’ sued and Robinhood CEO ‘forced to live in hotel’ over GameStop saga
Both men set to testify in House financial services committee this week
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Your support makes all the difference.YouTuber “Roaring Kitty” is facing a lawsuit while the boss of Robinhood Markets is being forced to hide in a hotel after receiving death threats following Gamestop chaos, reports have said.
According to Bloomberg, a source told the outlet that CEO Vlad Tenev has been avoiding going home and is “lying low in a hotel” after receiving death threats from angry clients following the controversy surrounding his financial services company in recent weeks.
Mr Tenev, who has just turned 34, has reportedly been making grim jokes about feeling hated ahead of the audience with lawmakers this week.
Meanwhile, Keith Gill, the most visible protagonist and GameStop booster on the WallStreetBets subreddit, has been hit with a securities class action, the outlet also reported.
Proposed class action against Mr Gill, who adopted the online nickname “Roaring Kitty,” was filed on Tuesday in federal court in Massachusetts, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Both men are set to testify at a congressional hearing on Thursday by the House financial services committee following the Gamestop chaos in late January.
The clash between amateur investors on Reddit and Wall Street firms caused multi-billion dollar fluctuations, with each side making competing bets on shares of companies like GameStop.
Robinhood placed restrictions on certain trades coming through their platform amid the stock saga, prompting a widespread backlash from the public and high-profile figures on both sides of the political spectrum.
These restrictions, which seemed to some to tip the scales against everyday investors, provoked officials like senator Ted Cruz and congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to call for inquiries into what happened.
“We continuously monitor the markets and make changes where necessary,” Robinhood said in a statement announcing the restrictions at the time. “In light of recent volatility, we are restricting transactions for certain securities.”
Robinhood did not immediately respond to The Independent’s email request for comment on the claims regarding Mr Tenev.
Lawmakers in Washington will examine several of the principal actors in the GameStop saga following public outcry during the hearing on Thursday.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press
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