The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) entered a final consent judgment against defendant Volkswagen Group of America Finance, LLC (VWGOAF), which the SEC had accused in 2019 of making false and misleading statements in connection with its 2014 billion offerings and 2015 corporate bond dollars.
VWGOAF is the financing subsidiary of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
The SEC complaint, filed March 14, 2019, alleges, among other things, that from April 2014 to May 2015, VWGOAF issued more than $8 billion in bonds in the U.S. markets at a time when its senior executives Volkswagen knew that more than 500,000 of its vehicles in the United States were far exceeding legal vehicle emission limits, exposing the company to enormous financial and reputational damage.
The complaint alleges that VWGOAF made false and misleading statements to investors and contractors about Volkswagen’s vehicle quality, environmental compliance and financial condition.
VWGOAF, without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining it from violations of the anti-fraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10( b) of the Securities Exchange Act. of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.
The final judgment orders VWGOAF to pay $34.35 million in damages and $14.4 million in prejudgment interest. After entering the final judgment, the SEC dismissed its pending claims against VWGOAF’s ultimate parent company, Volkswagen AG, and former Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn.
The Court previously dismissed the SEC’s claims against VW Credit, Inc. on August 20, 2020.
The above actions have resolved the SEC’s case against Volkswagen in its entirety.