*By Carlo Versano*
Federal regulators have subpoenaed Snap as part of a probe into its 2017 initial public offering, the company confirmed in a statement to Cheddar.
Reuters first [reported](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-snap-sec-exclusive/exclusive-snap-reveals-us-subpoenas-on-ipo-disclosures-idUSKCN1NJ04O) the subpoenas late Tuesday.
The subpoenas, filed by the Justice Dept. in coordination with the SEC, are believed to be related to a class action lawsuit filed by a group of investors in May 2017 that alleged the company misrepresented how competition from Facebook's Instagram ($FB) was affecting its growth ahead of the $3.4 billion IPO, and misled the public about its user metrics.
In the statement, Snap said: “While we do not have complete visibility into these investigations, our understanding is that the DOJ is likely focused on IPO disclosures relating to competition from Instagram."
The social-messaging app has suffered from the competition with Instagram, which launched a near-identical feature to Snapchat's core service in 2016 and now [boasts](https://money.cnn.com/2018/06/28/technology/instagram-stories-users/index.html) double the users. The company has also seen some of its top talent leave, including [most recently](https://www.cheddar.com/videos/snap-vp-content-nick-bell-to-leave) the head of content, Nick Bell.
Snap stock is trading at less than half its IPO price.
Much like all the upheaval shaking the world, the huge swings rocking Wall Street may feel far from normal. But, for investing at least, this is normal.
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
