SEC v. HYZON MOTORS INC., CRAIG M. KNIGHT, and MAX C.B. HOLTHAUSEN Case No. 23-CV-6553-FPG (W.D.N.Y.)

On September 26, 2023, the Commission filed a complaint (the “Complaint”) against Hyzon Motors Inc. (“Hyzon”), Craig M. Knight (“Knight”), and Max C.B. Holthausen (“Holthausen”) (collectively, the “Defendants”).  The Complaint alleged that, from January 2021 through July 2021, Hyzon, a publicly traded company that assembles hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (“FCEVs”), violated federal securities laws by making false and misleading statements to investors about its customer and supplier relationships and overstated the number of FCEVs it had completed, delivered, and sold. The Complaint further alleged that Knight, Hyzon’s chief executive officer, and Holthausen, the head of Hyzon’s European subsidiary and an executive officer and management team member of Hyzon, were responsible for Hyzon’s false and misleading statements. See Complaint.  

  Without admitting or denying the allegations of the complaint, the Defendants consented to the entry of Final Judgments against them. On January 16, 2024, Hyzon was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $25,000,000.00 to the Commission in three installments. On January 17, 2024, Knight was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $100,000.00 and Holthausen was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $200,000.00 to the Commission. Holthausen and Knight have paid in full. In total, the Defendants were ordered to pay $25,300,000.00 to the Commission in civil penalties. The Commission was ordered to hold all funds, together with interest and income earned thereon (collectively, the “Fair Fund”), pending further order of the Court. See Hyzon’s Final Judgment, Knight’s Final Judgment, and Holthausen’s Final Judgment.  

The Fair Fund consists of amounts collected from the Defendants. Any future funds collected pursuant to the Defendants’ judgments will be added to the Fair Fund.  

On July 8, 2024, the Court entered an order establishing a Fair Fund, pursuant to Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, so the penalties collected can be distributed to those harmed by the Defendants’ conduct described in the Complaint. The Court further ordered the appointment of Miller Kaplan Arase LLP as the Tax Administrator to fulfill the tax obligations of the Fair Fund.

For more information, please contact the Commission: 

Office of Distributions 

Email:  ENFOfficeofDistributions@sec.gov