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Bankrupt EV startup Fisker is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a new filing from the financial regulator.
The SEC says in the filing it has sent multiple subpoenas to Fisker as part of the investigation, and that it may send more. The agency does not say what the investigation specifically involves, only that it could result in “future actions alleging violations of the federal securities laws.
Fisker did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the SEC said the agency “does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation.”
The revelation of the SEC’s investigation comes nearly four months after Fisker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company has spent the intervening months architecting a sale of its remaining vehicle fleet, while coming to an agreement with all of its creditors on how to liquidate its assets.
The company recently reached a settlement plan with its creditors on how that liquidation will go, but the SEC on Friday filed an objection to the plan. The commission said it’s concerned there is insufficient language protecting its ability to pursue the company or other parties in its investigation. The SEC also objected to the settlement because it makes no mention of how, or even if, Fisker plans to preserve its corporate records.
“The Commission has outstanding investigative subpoenas and may have the need to request or subpoena additional documents in the future relating to its ongoing investigation,” the SEC wrote in the filing. The SEC also said it has asked Fisker where its corporate records will be maintained after a settlement plan is enacted but “has not received any response.”
Fisker first disclosed receiving a subpoena from the SEC in bankruptcy filing in August. It also revealed in another August filing that the SEC had filed a claim in the bankruptcy case of an “undetermined” amount for “litigation.” Neither filing confirmed whether the company was under investigation, though.
Fisker collapsed earlier this year after struggling to get its Ocean SUV into the hands of more than just a few thousand customers. As TechCrunch previously revealed, the company was unable to meet its own meager internal sales goals. It also tried, but failed, to pivot from a direct sales model to selling the Ocean through dealer partners.
In late 2023, the company abruptly cycled through a number of chief accounting officers, and was late in filing its third-quarter financial results with the SEC. (That late filing allowed Fisker’s largest lender to put pressure on the company that ultimately contributed to its bankruptcy.) Multiple former employees have also told TechCrunch about how the company struggled to keep its finances straight, including at one point briefly losing track of as much as $16 million in customer payments — a claim Fisker has denied.
Sean O’Kane is a reporter who has spent a decade covering the rapidly-evolving business and technology of the transportation industry, including Tesla and the many startups chasing Elon Musk. Most recently, he was a reporter at Bloomberg News where he helped break stories about some of the most notorious EV SPAC flops. He previously worked at The Verge, where he also covered consumer technology, hosted many short- and long-form videos, performed product and editorial photography, and once nearly passed out in a Red Bull Air Race plane.
