Any GameStop investigation will probably share similarities with those earlier Internet-era cases, according to John Stark, the first head of the SEC’s office of Internet enforcement. Many involved scam artists posting false or misleading information on websites in a bid to drive up the price of selected stocks.
In the GameStop case, which has seen an army of retail investors enthusiastically posting about the video game retailer’s shares, individuals who were paid to post about the stock and had not disclosed that fact could be vulnerable to manipulation charges, Stark said. But given the volume of postings on r/WallStreetBets, which has 8.4 million members, sifting the evidence will be a daunting task.
Source: How will Wall Street regulators handle GameStop? – The Washington Post
