Volkswagen (VWAGY, VOX.DE) could find itself in hot water with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over a fake news release claiming it was changing the name of its U.S. operations to “Voltswagen of America” that turned out to be an April Fools’ Day stunt.Der Spiegel reported on Thursday that the SEC was investigating whether the ill-advised prank affected the stock price of the automaker, which apologized for the early April Fool’s joke and said it was intended to publicize its electric vehicle efforts.Former SEC chief economist, Chester Spatt, at the time of the prank told Yahoo Finance that the SEC would likely decide whether to launch a probe based on whether it concluded that Volkswagen executives intended to move the company’s stock price.“What was the motive? Were they trying to signal that they’re going to be seriously electric?” he said the agency would ask. “I think if it did, the Commission won’t be very happy and probably would pursue it. If the SEC just sees it as an April Fools’ joke it’s probably not going to get so much traction. Although, obviously, securities disclosures are supposed to be serious stuff.”A Volkswagen logo sign is seen inside the lobby of the U.S. headquarters building of Volkswagen Group of America in Herndon, Virginia, September 18, 2008. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES)The next step to bring an action against Volkswagen would depend, in part, on the SEC’s evaluation of whether the fake announcement confused investors into thinking it was true. One issue that could work against the company in that regard, he said, is that its fake press release was issued on March 29, several days before April 1, which failed to tip off reporters who typically look out for hoaxes.“I think it does undercut, a little bit, the nature of securities disclosure, because if you see some disclosure that looks a little bit outlandish, you have to kind of wonder: Is this true? Or is this April Fool’s? And that would be a reason to bring some sort of action,” Spatt said. “It’s a little bit outside the bounds of April 1st humor, and therefore has more potential to be misleading to investors, and that is a concern. And that should be a concern of the staff.”Story continuesOther potential problems for Volkswagen, Spatt added, are the “full fledged” nature of its false press release, and the company’s possible appearance as a repeat offender when it comes to misleading the public.In 2017, executives of its German entity, Volkswagen AG, reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, agreeing to plead guilty to criminal and civil charges over a conspiracy to cheat U.S. emissions tests, and pay $4.3 billion in penalties. A federal lawsuit by the SEC remains pending in California, alleging that Volkswagen lied to investors about the emissions cover-up.On Thursday, Der Spiegel reported that the SEC investigation was in its early stages. Yahoo Finance reached out to the SEC and Volkswagen and will update this post with any responses it receives.Read more:Coinbase customers with hacked accounts get no justice from ‘horrible’ US laws: Fintech lawyerSquare’s Cash App vulnerable to hackers, customers claim: ‘They’re completely ghosting you’Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance and former litigation attorney. Follow Alexis Keenan on Twitter @alexiskweed.Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn,YouTube, and reddit.