DETROIT (AP) – Fiat Chrysler has agreed to pay $40 million to settle a complaint by securities regulators that it misled investors by overstating monthly sales numbers.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says the company inflated sales by paying dealers to report fake numbers between 2012 and 2016.

The agency says FCA bragged about a streak of year-over-year sales increases when the streak was broken in September of 2013.

It says Fiat Chrysler kept a database of actual but unreported sales, and dipped into that when the streak would have ended or the company would have missed other sales targets.

The company says it has reviewed and refined its sales reporting procedures and is committed to strong controls. FCA says the payment will not have a large impact on its financial statements.