- A bipartisan coalition of 24 AGs, led by Illinois AG Kwame Raoul, filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) position in Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, No. 18-1501, that it should be allowed to seek the remedy of disgorgement in civil enforcement actions against fraudulent actors.
- In the brief, the AGs argue that disgorgement is needed to redress the harm done to the victims of fraud and to deter future fraudulent behavior, and point out that in fiscal year 2019 alone, fraudulent actors were required to repay more than $3.2 billion in disgorgement via SEC enforcement actions.
- The AGs further argue that removing the SEC’s ability to seek disgorgement would allow bad actors to keep gains obtained by fraud—thereby encouraging further scams—and that investors may lose confidence in the markets if the SEC loses its ability to seek disgorgement.