Lordstown Motors 創辦人就誤導性投資者索賠與 SEC 達成和解

Lordstown Motors 前執行長 Steve Burns 因誤導投資者對該公司 Endurance 皮卡的需求而與 SEC 達成和解。伯恩斯同意被處以 175,000 美元的罰款，並被禁止在兩年內擔任上市公司的高階主管或董事。美國證券交易委員會的調查發現，洛茲敦汽車公司和伯恩斯公司對卡車的預訂數量做出了誤導性陳述，從而對需求做出了不切實際的描述。

Lordstown Motors Founder Steve Burns Settles with SEC over Misleading Investor Statements

Lordstown Motors 創辦人 Steve Burns 就誤導性投資者聲明與 SEC 達成和解

Washington, D.C., August 17, 2023 - Steve Burns, the former founder, chairman, and CEO of electric vehicle (EV) startup Lordstown Motors, has reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with allegations that he misled investors about the demand for the company's Endurance pickup truck.

華盛頓特區，2023 年8 月17 日- 電動汽車(EV) 新創公司Lordstown Motors 的前創始人、董事長兼首席執行官史蒂夫·伯恩斯(Steve Burns) 已與美國證券交易委員會(SEC)就其指控達成和解。誤導投資者對該公司 Endurance 皮卡車的需求。

According to the settlement agreement filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Burns has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $175,000 and is prohibited from serving as an officer or director of a public company for two years. Burns neither admitted nor denied the SEC's allegations.

根據向美國哥倫比亞特區地方法院提交的和解協議，伯恩斯同意支付 175,000 美元的民事罰款，並在兩年內禁止擔任上市公司的高階主管或董事。伯恩斯既沒有承認也沒有否認 SEC 的指控。

The SEC's investigation, which commenced in February 2024, found that Lordstown Motors and Burns made materially misleading statements to investors regarding the sales prospects of the Endurance pickup truck. In particular, the SEC alleged that Lordstown Motors and Burns overstated the number of pre-orders for the vehicle, including by claiming that 100,000 nonbinding pre-orders had been received from commercial fleet customers.

美國證券交易委員會於 2024 年 2 月開始調查，發現 Lordstown Motors 和 Burns 就 Endurance 皮卡的銷售前景向投資者做出了重大誤導性陳述。特別是，SEC 指控 Lordstown Motors 和 Burns 誇大了該車輛的預訂數量，包括聲稱已從商業車隊客戶收到 100,000 份不具約束力的預訂單。

The SEC's investigation revealed that the majority of these pre-orders were not submitted by commercial fleet customers, as Lordstown Motors had represented. Instead, many of the pre-orders came from companies that did not operate fleets or did not intend to purchase the truck for their own use.

美國證券交易委員會的調查顯示，這些預購訂單中的大部分並不是由商業車隊客戶提交的，正如洛茲敦汽車公司所代表的那樣。相反，許多預訂訂單來自不經營車隊或不打算購買卡車供自己使用的公司。

The SEC's findings further indicated that Lordstown Motors and Burns used these inflated pre-order numbers to create an unrealistic and inaccurate depiction of demand for the Endurance truck from commercial fleet customers. This, in turn, misled investors about the company's prospects and contributed to its subsequent financial difficulties.

美國證券交易委員會的調查結果進一步表明，洛茲敦汽車公司和伯恩斯公司利用這些誇大的預訂數量對商業車隊客戶對 Endurance 卡車的需求進行了不切實際且不準確的描述。這反過來又誤導了投資者對公司前景的認識，並導致其隨後的財務困難。

Lordstown Motors settled its own charges with the SEC in February 2024, agreeing to pay a $25.5 million penalty.

Lordstown Motors 於 2024 年 2 月與 SEC 達成和解，同意支付 2,550 萬美元的罰款。

Burns founded Lordstown Motors in 2019 as an offshoot of his other company, Workhorse Group. The company went public in 2020 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) named DiamondPeak Holdings Corp. During and after the merger, Lordstown Motors raised $780 million from investors.

Burns 於 2019 年創立了 Lordstown Motors，作為他的另一家公司 Workhorse Group 的分支機構。該公司於 2020 年與一家名為 DiamondPeak Holdings Corp 的特殊目的收購公司 (SPAC) 合併而上市。合併期間和合併後，Lordstown Motors 從投資者籌集了 7.8 億美元。

Lordstown Motors initially attracted significant attention and investment, including from General Motors, which acquired the company's assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. However, the company faced challenges in producing and selling its vehicles, and its share price plummeted from its peak in 2020.

洛茲敦汽車公司最初吸引了巨大的關注和投資，其中包括通用汽車公司，後者收購了該公司位於俄亥俄州洛茲敦的組裝廠。然而，該公司在生產和銷售汽車方面面臨挑戰，股價較2020年的高點暴跌。

In June 2021, Burns and other Lordstown Motors executives resigned amid the SEC's investigation and allegations of misleading investors. Lordstown Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2022 and emerged from bankruptcy in March 2023 under a new name, Nu Ride Inc.

2021 年 6 月，伯恩斯和洛茲敦汽車公司的其他高階主管因 SEC 的調查和誤導投資者的指控而辭職。 Lordstown Motors 於 2022 年 6 月根據美國破產法第 11 章申請破產保護，並於 2023 年 3 月擺脫破產保護，改名為 Nu Ride Inc.。

Since his departure from Lordstown Motors, Burns has launched a new company called LandX Motors.

離開洛茲敦汽車公司後，伯恩斯成立了一家名為 LandX Motors 的新公司。