Report: FCA faces fraud investigation by FBI, SEC

The agencies are allegedly looking into the company\'s sales reporting practices.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is allegedly under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The inquiries are said to be focused on potential violations of securities regulations, unnamed sources have told Bloomberg.

"In its annual and quarterly financial statements, FCA records revenues based on shipments to dealers and customers and not on reported vehicle unit sales to end customers," FCA said in a statement.

Additional details have not been publicly confirmed, however Bloomberg suggests the company could face scrutiny of its sales reporting practices. The news outlet points to a recent dealer lawsuit that accuses the company of paying kickbacks to dealers for creating fraudulent New Vehicle Delivery Reports, in an alleged attempt to falsely inflate sales figures.

Another lawsuit filed by a Maserati dealer claimed FCA encouraged dealers to falsify sales on the last day of the month, then 'backing out' the sales on the following business days. One manager was allegedly offered $20,000 to misreport sales of 40 new vehicles in a single month, concealing the payment as a co-op advertising credit.

FCA downplayed the Maserati dispute as a "baseless" maneuver by two underperforming dealers that were attempting to receive "special treatment."

Previous reports have suggested many automakers use questionable strategies to inflate monthly or annual sales numbers.