Securities and Exchange Commission
Protects investors and maintains fair, orderly, and efficient markets
Key Regulations
Annual Report (Form 10-K) Filing Requirements
Public companies must file comprehensive annual reports including financial statements and risk disclosures.
Regulation D — Private Placement Exemptions
Allows companies to raise capital through private offerings without full SEC registration under certain conditions.
Rule 10b-5 — Employment of Manipulative and Deceptive Devices
Prohibits fraud, insider trading, and deceptive practices in connection with buying or selling securities.
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting (SOX 404)
Requires public companies to assess and report on the effectiveness of their internal financial controls.
Regulation FD — Fair Disclosure
Prevents companies from selectively disclosing important information to favored analysts or investors before the public.
Regulation A — Small Issue Exemption
Provides a streamlined exemption for small and medium-sized public offerings up to $75 million.
Regulation SHO — Short Sale Regulation
Regulates short selling of stocks to prevent abusive practices and excessive market manipulation.
Investment Adviser Compliance Programs
Requires registered investment advisers to maintain compliance programs and designate a chief compliance officer.
Enforcement Actions
SEC v. Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes — Securities Fraud
Respondent: Theranos, Inc. and Elizabeth Holmes
The SEC charged Theranos, Inc. and its founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes with massive fraud for raising more than $700 million from investors through an elaborate scheme involving false and misleading ...
Outcome: Settlement with officer/director bar; separate criminal conviction on wire fraud charges.
SEC Enforcement Against Insider Trading Ring — SAC Capital
Respondent: SAC Capital Advisors LP
SAC Capital Advisors, one of the most successful hedge funds in history, agreed to pay $1.8 billion in penalties and plead guilty to insider trading charges in what was then the largest such penalty e...
Outcome: $1.8 billion penalty; fund ceased managing outside capital; multiple employee convictions.
SEC v. Ripple Labs — Unregistered Securities Offering
Respondent: Ripple Labs Inc.
The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs and two of its executives alleging that the company raised over $1.3 billion through the sale of XRP tokens in an unregistered securities offering. The case...
Outcome: Mixed ruling; institutional sales found to be securities violations; programmatic sales not.
SEC v. Goldman Sachs — Abacus CDO Fraud
Respondent: Goldman, Sachs & Co.
The SEC charged Goldman Sachs with fraud in connection with the structuring and marketing of a synthetic collateralized debt obligation (CDO) called Abacus 2007-AC1. The SEC alleged that Goldman misle...
Outcome: $550M settlement; Goldman acknowledged marketing materials were incomplete.
SEC v. Enron — Accounting Fraud
Respondent: Enron Corp. (and executives)
The SEC brought enforcement actions against numerous Enron executives for their roles in one of the largest corporate fraud scandals in American history. Enron, once the seventh-largest company in the...
Outcome: Multiple executive convictions; led to Sarbanes-Oxley Act; Arthur Andersen dissolution.
SEC v. Binance — Operating Unregistered Exchange
Respondent: Binance Holdings Limited and Changpeng Zhao
The SEC filed 13 charges against Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, and its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ). The charges alleged that Binance operated unregistered exchanges, broker-dea...
Outcome: Criminal plea by CEO; $4.3B in penalties; ongoing SEC litigation on securities claims.
SEC v. Telegram — Unregistered Token Offering (Gram)
Respondent: Telegram Group Inc. and TON Issuer Inc.
The SEC obtained an emergency restraining order to halt Telegram's planned distribution of its Gram cryptocurrency tokens to investors who had purchased $1.7 billion worth of tokens in a private offer...
Outcome: $1.2B returned to investors; $18.5M penalty; TON project abandoned.
SEC v. Elon Musk — Securities Fraud ("Funding Secured" Tweet)
Respondent: Elon Musk
The SEC charged Tesla CEO Elon Musk with securities fraud for a series of tweets claiming he had 'funding secured' to take Tesla private at $420 per share. The SEC alleged that Musk's statements were ...
Outcome: $40M combined penalty; Musk stepped down as chairman; tweet pre-approval process.
SEC v. Theranos Executive Ramesh Balwani — Securities Fraud
Respondent: Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani
The SEC brought securities fraud charges against former Theranos president and COO Ramesh Balwani, alleging that he helped orchestrate a massive fraud that deceived investors about the capabilities of...
Outcome: Criminal conviction on 12 fraud counts; nearly 13-year prison sentence.
SEC v. Wirecard — Accounting Fraud Scheme
Respondent: Wirecard AG (former executives)
The SEC charged former Wirecard executives with participating in a multi-year scheme to fraudulently inflate the company's revenue and assets by billions of dollars. Wirecard, a German payments compan...
Outcome: Charges filed against executives; former COO became fugitive; ongoing international proceedings.