Bad news for the prominent auto-maker Fiat Chrysler as they were caught by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for inflating their monthly car sales numbers. They have been fined a $40 million penalty for lying and misleading investors. This settlement comes after a multi-year investigation, which found that Fiat Chrysler had been exaggerating their monthly sales numbers from 2012 to 2016.
The SEC found that Fiat Chrysler executives had been paying dealers to report fake sales, which in turn, falsely suggested a streak of monthly year-over-year sales growth. This fine comes in addition to the lofty $800 million fine they received earlier this year for violating emissions laws. Fiat Chrysler shares surprisingly only dipped about 1% Friday, but they remain down over 11% on the year.
Business Barrage 