US

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Primary federal regulator of US securities markets and financial reporting.

REGULATOR PROFILE
  • Regulator: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
  • Jurisdiction: US
  • Statutory Role: Primary federal regulator of US securities markets and financial reporting.
  • Indexed Cases: 35 enforcement actions in this jurisdiction.

PRIMARY ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS IN US

35 ACTIONS
Case Title Status Primary Scheme Overstatement Total Penalties Action Date
WorldCom: $11B Operating Expense Capitalization Fraud ADJUDICATED capitalising operating expenses $11.0B $750.0M June 26, 2002
Enron Corp.: Off-Balance-Sheet SPEs and Mark-to-Model Fabrication ADJUDICATED off balance sheet entities $1.2B $23.8M October 31, 2001
Patisserie Valerie: £94M Forged Invoices and Secret Overdrafts ADJUDICATED fictitious revenue $120.0M $3.1M September 20, 2021
Computer Associates: $2.2B '35-Day Month' Revenue Backdating ADJUDICATED premature recognition $2.2B $225.0M September 20, 2006
Tyco International: $600M Executive Looting and Reserve Accounting ADJUDICATED undisclosed related party transactions $600.0M $50.0M September 20, 2004
Adelphia Communications: $2.3B Off-Balance-Sheet Family Co-Borrowing ADJUDICATED off balance sheet entities $2.3B $715.0M September 20, 2004
Lehman Brothers: $50B Repo 105 Balance Sheet De-leveraging ADJUDICATED debt classification and covenant concealment $50.0B $0 September 20, 2010
Bristol-Myers Squibb: $2B Channel Stuffing with Wholesaler Incentives SETTLED channel stuffing $2.0B $150.0M September 20, 2006
Waste Management: $3.5B Depreciation Useful Life Extension Scheme SETTLED depreciation and useful life $3.5B $457.0M September 20, 2000
Sunbeam Corporation: 'Chainsaw Al' Dunlap's Big Bath and Bill-and-Hold SETTLED big bath $60.0M $500K September 20, 2000
Xerox Corporation: $1.5B Lease Acceleration and Reserve Manipulation SETTLED multiple element manipulation $1.5B $10.0M September 20, 2003
Brocade Communications: Criminal Options Backdating Scheme ADJUDICATED options backdating $150.0M $7.0M September 20, 2008
Diebold, Inc.: Bill-and-Hold and Factory Floor Premature Revenue Recognition SETTLED bill and hold $127.0M $25.0M September 20, 2007
Global Crossing: Hundreds of Millions in Reciprocal Fiber Capacity Swaps SETTLED round tripping $750.0M $0 September 20, 2004
Qwest Communications: $3B Sham Optical Capacity Swaps and False Metrics SETTLED round tripping $3.0B $250.0M September 20, 2004
Colonial Bank: $2.9B Fake Mortgage Collateral Fraud with Taylor Bean ADJUDICATED loan loss provisioning $2.9B $625.0M September 20, 2013
Theranos: Fabricated Revenue Projections and Fake Blood Analyzer Demos ADJUDICATED misleading non gaap and kpis $700.0M $500K September 20, 2020
Dynegy: Project Alpha Financing Disguised as Operating Cash Flow SETTLED round tripping $300.0M $3.0M September 20, 2004
UnitedHealth Group: Decades-Long Options Backdating and $400M Clawback SETTLED options backdating $1.5B $400.0M September 20, 2008
Symbol Technologies: 'Candy Deals' and Widespread Revenue Stuffing ADJUDICATED side letters $230.0M $37.0M September 20, 2005
Fannie Mae: Loan-Loss Reserve Manipulation to Trigger Executive Payouts SETTLED allowance manipulation $6.3B $400.0M September 20, 2010
Delphi Corporation: Sham Battery Inventory Transactions and Off-Balance Financing SETTLED round tripping $1.2B $0 September 20, 2007
Homestore.com: Triangular Round-Trip Online Advertising Barter Deals ADJUDICATED barter and nonmonetary $46.0M $0 September 20, 2004
AOL Time Warner: $1B Round-Trip and Nonmonetary Advertising Swaps SETTLED barter and nonmonetary $1.0B $510.0M September 20, 2004
W.R. Grace & Co.: Landmark SEC Cookie-Jar Reserve Action SETTLED cookie jar reserves $20.0M $0 September 20, 2001
Crazy Eddie: Altered Inventory Count Sheets and Phony Invoices ADJUDICATED phantom inventory $80.0M $15.0M September 20, 1988
Phar-Mor: $500M Phantom Inventory Ledger and Subordinate Bribery ADJUDICATED phantom inventory $500.0M $0 September 20, 1994
General Electric: $200M SEC Penalty for Long-Term Care and Power Accounting SETTLED segment misreporting $22.0B $200.0M September 20, 2020
Boeing: $200M SEC Settlement for Misleading 737 MAX Safety Disclosures SETTLED material omission $2.5B $200.0M September 20, 2023
WeWork: 'Community Adjusted EBITDA' and Concealed Self-Dealing Leases SETTLED misleading non gaap and kpis $1.6B $0 September 20, 2021
KPMG PCAOB Leak Scandal: Stealing Regulators' Inspection Lists to Alter Workpapers ADJUDICATED workpaper alteration $0 $50.0M September 20, 2020
Arthur Andersen: Document Shredding and Obstruction of Justice in Enron Audit ADJUDICATED workpaper alteration $0 $0 September 20, 2003
PricewaterhouseCoopers: $7.9M SEC Settlement for Nationwide Independence Violations SETTLED independence violation $0 $7.9M September 20, 2021
Ernst & Young: Independence Violations from Commercial and Romantic Ties SETTLED independence violation $0 $9.3M September 20, 2016
Puda Coal: Reverse Merger Fraud and Secret Theft of Operating Asset ADJUDICATED reverse merger fraud $150.0M $0 September 20, 2013