US sales manager and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ram truck brand filed a lawsuit against the company, which he said had taken revenge against him for cooperating with a US government investigation on FCA sales reports.

Reid Bigland, a 22-year-old company veteran and his predecessors, who had at times been suggested as a leadership candidate, says in the lawsuit, initially filed in Oakland County Court of Appeal , that the company withheld most of its compensation for 2018 as a punishment and intended to use it to pay fines. His lawyer, Deborah Gordon of Bloomfield Hills, refused to give the exact amount, but said it was in millions of dollars.

Reid Bigland of FCA is responsible for sales in the United States as well as the Ram truck brand and is CEO of FCA Canada. (Photo: Nick Busato)

Bigland, who is also CEO of FCA Canada, said he "had refused to become the scapegoat for the long-standing communications practices of the defendants, who preceded him by reporting the full scope of this information to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Exchange Commission of the United States ".

The issue of sales was unveiled in 2016. The Free Press reported at the time that FCA was under the supervision of the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission and that its impressive sales series, either 75 consecutive months of increasing sales, had effectively ended in September 2013.. "

Bigland said in his complaint that he had inherited the sales reporting methodology, in place since the late 1980s, and that it was widely known, notably by former CEO Sergio Marchionne , deceased last year; and Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer, whose training he had taken.

The lawsuit stated that the methodology had no appreciable impact on investors. The FCA said in 2016 that it had revised this practice, which apparently allowed dealers to report their sales a month, to "untie" sales and return vehicles to their inventory.

Bigland said the SEC had suggested that he admitted to having committed wrongdoing by the end of 2018, but that he had refused to do so because "there had not been wrongdoing" . In January of this year, he published a white paper on sales reporting to the SEC.

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"When the accused received the complainant's white paper in January 2019, they became aware of the extent of the complainant's involvement in the SEC's investigation and the position he was taking" , according to the complaint reported for the first time by the Detroit News.

Bigland also said in the suit that a compensation committee of the company was concerned about the "recent sales of all its shares". On March 8, Bigland would have learned that he was the "only person" in the company to have sold all his shares, according to the lawsuit.

Interestingly, CEO Mike Manley reportedly sold $ 3.5 million worth of shares of the company following the announcement that FCA had proposed a 50/50 merger with French automaker Renault. The agreement collapsed on Wednesday night when the FCA withdrew its bid and Renault delayed the vote on the proposal.

Gordon, Bigland's attorney, said that Bigland's performances had been excellent and that in 2017, when the company had recorded its highest profits of all time, Bigland had played an important role in the most profitable areas.

"His record is devoid of any negative elements related to his performance," said Gordon.

The FCA issued a statement about the lawsuit, in which FCA, FCA North America Holdings and FCA US were named as defendants:

"We note the complaint filed by Reid Bigland that his eligibility for incentive compensation – such as that of all officers – is subject to the determination of the compensation committee of the board of directors that he meets the performance conditions. Corporate and Personal Performance Applicable Mr. Bigland's eligibility for his award remains subject to this determination and the completion of a Board-level evaluation of the matters being dealt with. government investigations (as previously disclosed by the FCA) with which the FCA continues to cooperate on ongoing litigation or internal clearing processes. "

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.

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