October 27, 2020 - An investor in shares of Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft („BMW“) (BMWYY, BAMXF) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey over alleged violations of Federal Securities Laws by Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft („BMW“) in connection with certain allegedly false and misleading statements made between November 3, 2015 and September 24, 2020.

On December 23, 2019, it was reported that the SEC is investigating BMW's sales practices, specifically, whether BMW engaged in a practice known as sales punching. Sales punching occurs when a company boosts sales figures by having dealers register cars as sold when the vehicles are still on car lots.

Then, on September 24, 2020, BMW agreed to a settlement with the SEC regarding the sales punching investigation. The settlement included fines of up to $18 million.

According to the complaint the plaintiff alleges on behalf of purchasers of Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft („BMW“) (BMWYY, BAMXF) common shares between November 3, 2015 and September 24, 2020, that the defendants violated Federal Securities Laws.

More specifically, the plaintiff claims that between November 3, 2015 and September 24, 2020, the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that BMW kept a “bank” of retail vehicle sales that it used to meet internal monthly sales targets regardless of when the sales actually occurred, that BMW artificially manipulated sales figures by having dealers register cars as sold when the cars were still in inventory, that as a result, BMW’s key operating metrics were inaccurate and misleading, and that as a result, defendants’ statements about BMW’s business, operations, and prospects were materially false and/or misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.