State securities regulators secured over US$2 billion in restitution orders, US$126 million in penalties, and 1,662 years in total prison time, against securities law violators, with their enforcement actions last year.
The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), which represents state and provincial regulators, reported Tuesday that state securities regulators conducted 6,121 investigations in 2011, which led to 2,602 criminal, administrative and civil enforcement actions.
These actions resulted in more than US$2.2 billion in investor restitution orders in 2011, mostly attributable to repurchases of auction rate securities. They also levied fines or penalties of US$126 million. And, prison time resulting from state-initiated actions totaled 1,662 years, up 47% from 2010, it said.
Additionally, they reported that nearly 2,800 broker and adviser licenses were withdrawn due to state action, up 7.7% from the year before; and 774 licenses were denied, revoked, suspended or conditioned, which is up 20% from the previous year.
“The report demonstrates that investors continue to rely upon state securities regulators. Enforcement remains one of our most fundamental responsibilities, if for no other reason, because no other regulator is going to act to protect hometown investors,” said Heath Abshure, NASAA’s president and Arkansas Securities Commissioner.
The majority of the investment fraud cases reported by state securities regulators featured unregistered individuals selling unregistered securities, it notes. More than 800 reported actions involved unregistered securities, and more than 800 actions involved unregistered firms or individuals. And, it says that financial abuse of seniors was identified in nearly 600 reported enforcement actions.
For the second consecutive year, private offerings and real estate investment schemes were the products most often reported at the heart of state securities enforcement actions, it notes.