SEC Enforcement Actions Fall 24% to 348, Lowest Since 1991

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought 348 enforcement actions in the fiscal year ending September 30, down about 24% from 456 a year earlier, according to figures the agency released on November 10. A review of SEC records puts it as the fewest actions since 1991.

Of the 348 actions, 235 were standalone cases, compared with 303 the prior year. The other 113 were follow-on administrative proceedings.

According to the SEC's annual enforcement results release, the agency ordered about $1.095 billion in financial remedies: $343 million in civil penalties and $752 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest. The latter figure includes $235 million that a court deemed satisfied through a separate proceeding. The monetary total is the lowest since 2008, based on the agency's historical statistics.

The SEC said it returned about $731 million to more than 250,000 harmed investors. It also received around 26,000 whistleblower tips and awarded more than $158 million to 65 whistleblowers.

Crypto cases

Fiscal 2026 was Chair Paul Atkins' first full fiscal year. Cornerstone Research counted 13 crypto-related SEC actions in 2025, against 33 in 2024, with five of the 13 filed before Gary Gensler left in January 2025.

The crypto cases in the latest results involved alleged fraud. The SEC charged three purported crypto trading platforms and four investment clubs over an alleged scheme that defrauded investors of at least $14 million, with social media recommendations supposedly AI-generated and proceeds sent overseas. In a separate case, the agency accused the founder of a Bitcoin mining business of misappropriating $48.5 million after raising more than $95.6 million from about 6,400 investors.

Other cases included an April settlement with Francis Decker, the Prager Metis partner who led FTX's audits, and a February jury verdict against Ismael Zarco Sanchez in the $300 million CryptoFX Ponzi scheme. In July, a court ordered Michael Noble to pay $1.07 million over his role promoting BitConnect.

Restructuring and response

The agency created a Retail Fraud Working Group, with more than a dozen investigations, and a Financial Reporting and Accounting Unit. It also set up an analytics office that uses blockchain and financial-flow analysis. The Enforcement Manual was revised for the first time since 2017.

Enforcement Director David Woodcock said he was comfortable with staffing levels and that the agency could handle its work with fewer resources.

Atkins has argued that raw counts are an incomplete gauge.

"Enforcement actions and financial remedies are important measures of activity, but they are not the only or most telling measures,"

Paul Atkins, SEC Chair

Critics disagree. Senator Elizabeth Warren said:

"The new Democratic majority in Congress will closely scrutinize whether the Atkins SEC is protecting the American people,"

Elizabeth Warren

Context

Since 2025, several enforcement cases against major exchanges and digital asset businesses have been dismissed or resolved. Warren questioned Atkins in April about falling case numbers.

Fiscal 2025 remedies were reported at $17.9 billion, a figure heavily influenced by a judgment in a Ponzi case originally filed in 2009.

Separately, the agency's proposal on broker-dealer rules for crypto assets is under White House review.