Japan’s No. 3 steelmaker is likely to face an onslaught of legal action, possibly even class-action lawsuits, over the falsification of data in its products which have affected nearly 500 companies.

On Tuesday, Japan’s Kobe Steel Ltd has disclosed that U.S. authorities have requested access to the company’s documents related to tis data cheating scandal.

Kobe Steel said it would make an announcement at 0630 GMT (2:30 a.m. ET).

As per a source with knowledge of the matter, Kobe Steel has been accused of falsifying data on product quality and specifications for more than 10 years that it had previously stated.

The data cheating scandal has engulfed the Japanese steelmaker with the company saying nearly 500 companies have received it falsely certified products.