App Annie and its co-founder Bertrand Schmitt agreed to settle the fraud charges against them by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to the SEC, App Annie agreed to pay a civil penalty of $10 million and Mr. Schmitt agreed to pay $300,000 to resolve the matter. They did not admit or deny the allegations against them by the federal securities regulator.
App Annie is one of the largest alternative data providers for the mobile app industry. The company provides estimates regarding the performance of apps on mobile devices such as how often a customer uses an app and how much revenue an app generates.
Allegations against App Annie and Mr. Schmitt
In the SEC Order, the Commission alleged that App Annie and Mr. Schmitt violated the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws between late 2014 and mid-2018.
The respondents allegedly made material misrepresentations regarding how App Annie obtains its alternative data.
Additionally, the SEC alleged that App Annie and its co-founder engaged in other deceptive practices to persuade trading firms to become and remain subscribers of its alternative data to make decisions whether to buy or sell securities.
