New Century Financial, the US subprime lender scrambling to avoid bankruptcy, hit further troubles on Tuesday as it revealed that it was facing a preliminary investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and that it had received a grand jury subpoena from the Department of Justice.

The struggling backer of high-risk mortgages revealed that it was under criminal investigation by the US Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California at the end of February. It had already admitted that the SEC had asked for a meeting.