Exec FCA files lawsuit against whistleblower for alleged reprisal: report



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The federal government has been working for some time on the sales practices of the auto industry, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has been the focus of this investigation. After the start of the investigation, FCA even changed the way it posted its sales. During this process, Reid Bigland, FCA's senior sales manager and current Ram Trucks executive, was retaliated for cooperating with the investigation.

In a report of The Detroit NewsBigland filed a whistle-blower suit on Wednesday, claiming that the builder took revenge against him for cooperating with the investigation and punished his compensation by more than 90 percent. The Bligland lawsuit alleges that the company had to use the money saved by not paying its salary to pay the fines to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The lawsuit claims that he claims damages of $ 1.8 million.

Bigland's lawyer, Deborah Gordon, wrote in the lawsuit: "By the end of 2018, probably to put an end to their investigation, the SEC suggested to the plaintiff to admit that he had committed an act reprehensible concerning the monthly sales reports of the accused ". Gordon went on to say, "Because (Bigland) did not do anything wrong and there was none, he refused to do it."

Bigland wrote a letter to federal investigators outlining the company's inherited sales reporting practices and that these practices were well known throughout the company. Bigland sent this document which is the time when, according to the lawsuit, the reprisals began.

"(Bigland) 's refusal to act as scapegoat for the 30 years of practice of the defendants who preceded him, and his frankness as to the knowledge that the defendants had of this practice before and during his At the head of the United States forced the FCA to seek revenge on the plaintiff less than two months later by withholding his compensation, "continued Gordon.

FCA responded to The Detroit News As "all officers of the Company", Bigland's eligibility for incentive compensation is contingent upon the determination by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors that it has satisfied the performance conditions of the company and the personal performance applicable. Mr. Bigland's eligibility for his indemnity remains contingent upon this determination and the completion of a board-level assessment of matters that are the subject of government investigations (as previously disclosed by the FCA. ) and to which the FCA continues to cooperate. Beyond that, it would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing procedures or internal compensation processes. "

The investigation began in its entirety after two dealers in the state of Illinois had initiated a racketeering lawsuit against FCA. They alleged that the company had offered the dealers money to report unsold vehicles sold. FCA has since changed its reporting practices.

This legal action comes at a time when the company was proposing to Renault a $ 35 billion merger, which would create one of the largest automobile alliances in the world.

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