AutoChina International, a top commercial vehicle sales and leasing company in China, is leaning on financial communications counsel after it was hit with an SEC lawsuit this week which says it allegedly manipulated trading in its shares.
New York-based The Equity Group is providing investor relations counsel to the company. TEG VP Adam Prior, a Financial Relations Board vet, heads the assignment.
AutoChina, based in Hebei Province, said April 11 that it believes the SEC complaint is without merit.
“The company intends to defend against the claims vigorously and believes that all of the evidence it is aware of contradicts the SEC’s allegations,” said a statement. “AutoChina continues to work closely with its legal counsel and advisors to defend the company.”
AutoChina is the latest Chinese company with shares traded in the U.S. to be targeted by federal regulators. The SEC said the company and 11 investors used $60M to make phony trades from late 2010 through February 2012 to boost volume in a bid to get interest from investors.
“AutoChina and the other defendants engaged in a brazen manipulation of AutoChina’s stock to obtain favorable loan terms,” said Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC’s division of enforcement.