InfoBytes Blog
SEC claims principals misled investors about subprime auto loans
On September 23, the SEC filed a complaint against two former principals of a subprime automobile finance company for allegedly misleading investors about certain subprime auto loans. According to the SEC, the defendants made false and misleading statements and engaged in deceptive conduct concerning the company’s servicing practices in connection with a $100 million offering backed by a pool of subprime auto loans. The SEC alleged that the defendants took measures to artificially inflate the value of the collateral underlying the offering, such as by (i) including poorly-performing and delinquent loans that were disguised to appear to be performing better than they really were; (ii) applying “fake borrower payments” to delinquent loans; and (iii) extending terms on delinquent loans without contacting the borrower to disguise how far behind the borrowers were on payments. Because of these improper practices, the SEC claimed that servicing and performance information provided by the company to investors at the time of the offering and later on was false. The complaint charges the defendants with violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and seeks permanent injunctions, officer and director bars, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.