Luckin to Pay $180 Million to End SEC Probe After Collapse
- Chinese coffee chain fabricated $300 million in sales: SEC
- Luckin settles without admitting or denying agency’s claims
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Luckin Coffee Inc.’s collapse from a stunning accounting scandal has prompted a stiff price tag from U.S. regulators: $180 million.
The Chinese coffee chain intentionally fabricated more than $300 million in sales from at least April 2019 through January of this year, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which announced the fine and a settlement with the company in a Wednesday statement. To conceal the fraud, certain employees created a fake operations database, and altered bank records to reflect the bogus sales, according to the SEC.