On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen will be required to pay nearly $1 million in fines after he failed to disclose a stake in financial giant Wells Fargo & Company.
Back in 2018, Cohen, who is also a founder of an online retailer for pet food and pet products, acquired more than 562,000 Wells Fargo voting shares, approximately worth around $100 million. While Cohen was required to report the acquisition to federal antitrust agencies under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act due to the size of the stake, he failed to do so until 2021.
“Cohen’s acquisition of Wells Fargo voting securities was not exempt under the Investment-Only Exemption of the HSR Act, even though his holding represented less than 10 percent of the outstanding voting securities of Wells Fargo,” FTC said in a press release.
According to FTC, Cohen actively tried to get involved in Wells Fargo’s business decisions, corresponding with the company’s leadership and making suggestions for improvements. He also actively pursued a board seat but failed in his attempts.
In order to settle the charges brought against him by FTC, Cohen agreed to pay a civil penalty of $985,320.
Cohen and his investment vehicle RC Ventures were recently also the subject of a lawsuit by Bed Bath & Beyond. The suit, which accused Cohen of engaging in insider trading to make a $47 million profit, was dismissed in June.