In a surprising twist, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have expressed support for the reopened lawsuit against Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA).
The case centers on allegations that Nvidia misattributed more than $1 billion in GPU sales to demand from the gaming sector, while plaintiffs allege crypto miners were the actual buyers.
Reopening of the lawsuit against Nvidia
The case, originally filed in 2018 and dismissed in 2021, was reopened by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 28, 2023. Nvidia has opposed this reopening and asked for it to be dismissed, with the first hearing scheduled for November 13.
Support from DOJ and SEC
On October 2, the DOJ and SEC filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to allow the case to proceed. The letter states that there is ample evidence that Nvidia understated its crypto-related revenues by $1.35 billion between 2017 and 2018. These accusations are reinforced by statements from former Nvidia employees, who claim that the company was aware of the large role that crypto mining played in the sales of their GPUs.
Key witness statements and evidence
A 2019 Royal Bank of Canada report is cited in the indictment, which alleges that Nvidia hid the true size of its crypto-related sales. Former employees, referred to as FE 1 and FE 2, claim that Nvidia was aware of the huge demand for GPUs from crypto miners and that CEO Jensen Huang even discussed it in meetings.
Source: https://newsbit.nl/nvidia-in-juridische-strijd-doj-en-sec-steunen-rechtszaak-over-misleidende-cryptoverkopen/