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Category Archives: litigation
SEC Charges Engine Manufacturing Company Execs with Fraud
According to the complaint, filed in federal court in Chicago, Gary Winemaster, Power Solutions International Inc.’s former CEO, and two former senior sales executives, Craig Davis and James Needham, caused Power Solutions to fraudulently record revenue for purported sales of products that were not complete, that the customer had not agreed to accept, for which the price was falsely inflated, and from improper “bill and hold” arrangements. Continue reading
Supreme Court Upholds Unconscious Driver Blood Drawing
Gerald Mitchell was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated after a preliminary breath test registered a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) that was triple Wisconsin’s legal limit for driving. Continue reading
Anheuser Busch Pays $500,000 to Settle Air Quality Violations
Anheuser Busch agreed to pay the $500,000 fine and to comply with all applicable CARB programs. The company also agreed to instruct its vehicle operators to comply with California’s anti-idling regulations, ensure that staff responsible for compliance with smoke-inspection program attend training classes, and provide documentation to CARB that the smoke inspection requirements are being met for the next two years. Continue reading
Nissan Shareholders Elect 7 Independent Directors Out of 11
The new board of directors comprises 11 individuals, seven of whom are independent outside directors. Power appears to be evenly split between Renault and Nissan despite Nissan’s and the Japanese government’s interest in asserting more control. Renault, which owns 43% of Nissan and the French government, which owns 15% of Renault, are pushing for a merger. Paper organization charts are not always how business is conducted in mega, joint venture corporations. So, it will take some time to see how this works out as the Ghosn matter proceeds through the Japanese “legal” system. Continue reading
Walmart Guilty of Violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Walmart consented to the SEC’s order finding that it violated the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Continue reading
FAA Issues Waiver for Drones with Parachutes, New Supersonic Rulemaking, 737 Max Modifications Still Stalled
This remains to be seen at the beleaguered agency that appears to be too close to the aircraft industry as the ongoing Boeing 737 Max software modifications needed to prevent additional fatalities appears to be stalled. Continue reading
Renault Board Confirms Expenses Improperly Used by Ghosn
Several expenses incurred by RNBV for a total of ~€11 million include questionable air travel expenses for Mr. Ghosn; other expenses incurred for Mr. Ghosn; and gifts to non-profit organizations. Continue reading
Posted in litigation, news analysis, people
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, carlos ghosn, Ken Zino, Renault Nissan alliance, RNBV
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The Product Liability Swamp – Louisiana Ford Investigation
Beginning in January 2018*, several consumer class action lawsuits were filed against Ford on numerous grounds, including fraud and racketeering, based on alleged misrepresentations it made regarding the emissions standards of certain Ford vehicles including 2011-2017 F250 and F350 Super Duty trucks when promoting and marketing them. Allegedly the vehicles with the help of Robert Bosch employed “defeat devices” to turn down emissions controls to give Ford the ability to obtain and market higher power and fuel efficiency ratings from its engines while still passing emissions certifications tests. Continue reading
Ghosn – Muzzled – Bites Back After Nissan Board Ouster
“This is not about greed or dictatorship, this is about a plot, this is about a conspiracy, this is about a backstabbing,” Ghosn said. “I am innocent of all the charges that have been brought against me,” he said. Continue reading
Posted in fools 'n frauds, litigation, people
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Ken Zino
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Directors Carlos Ghosn, Greg Kelly Voted Out at Nissan
Hiroto Saikawa, President, among others, came under shareholder scrutiny for his protested innocence of having any knowledge of the scandal even though he was one of Ghosn’s “ right hand men…” Continue reading
EU Antitrust Allegations to Hurt BMW Earnings – €1 Billion!
The BMW Group provision will likely exceed €1 billion. The EBIT margin in the BMW Automotive Segment for the current financial year is expected to be 1-1.5 percentage points below the previous target range of 6-8%. Continue reading
Death of the Diesel – European Commission’s Ongoing Antitrust Probe Opens Formal Investigation into Possible Collusion Between Audi, BMW, Daimler, Porsche And VW
The EU maintains that Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche colluded, in breach of EU antitrust rules, to avoid competition on the development and roll-out of technology to clean the emissions of gasoline and diesel passenger cars. Continue reading
Ghosn Fallout – Nissan Board Changes
Nissan claims that building the best possible corporate governance structure as an urgent task and is working on swift implementation of a new organization. The company is now preparing an internal system to enable transition by the end of June, in expectation of receiving shareholder approval at the scheduled Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. Continue reading
Ghosn Fallout – Nissan Changes American Senior Management
Japanese prosecutors have accused him of hiding his compensation and shifting personal investment losses to Nissan’s books. Ghosn denying the charges claims Nissan executives who opposed closer ties to Renault went to Japanese authorities with false charges. Adding to the intrigue, Ghosn remains on the Board of Directors at al three companies. Continue reading
Facebook to Pay $100m for Misleading Investors on Risks from Misuse of User Data Helping Russian Attacks on US Democracy
According to the SEC’s complaint, in 2014 and 2015, the now-defunct advertising and data analytics company, Cambridge Analytica, paid an academic researcher, through a company he controlled, to collect and transfer data from Facebook to create personality scores for approximately 30 million Americans. Continue reading →