On November 14, 2023, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement announced its enforcement results for the 2023 fiscal year, which ended on September 30, 2023. Below is an overview of key areas of focus and notable actions:

• Record-setting financial remedies: The SEC obtained $4.949 billion in financial remedies, the second-highest amount in SEC history, below only the 2022 fiscal year record of $6.439 billion in financial remedies. The 2023 financial remedies included $3.369 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and $1.580 billion in civil penalties. The SEC distributed $930 million to harmed investors in fiscal year 2023.

• Increase in enforcement actions: The SEC filed 784 enforcement actions in fiscal year 2023, 24 more actions than the SEC filed in fiscal year 2022.

• Accountability and remedial measures against individual officers and directors: The SEC stressed that individual accountability remains a pillar of the SEC’s enforcement program. For fiscal year 2023, the SEC reported that it obtained orders barring 133 individuals from serving as officers and directors of public companies, the highest number of officer and director bars obtained in a decade. The SEC referenced several cases where, as part of the settled charges, individual officers and directors were barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company, including a former Wells Fargo executive, the former CEO of McDonalds, and Pareteum Corp.’s former controller.

• Record-setting whistleblower rewards and reports: The SEC issued whistleblower awards totaling nearly $600 million, the most ever awarded in one year, including a record-breaking $279 million awarded to one whistleblower whose information and assistance led to the successful enforcement of SEC and related actions. The SEC received more than 40,000 whistleblower tips, complaints, and referrals in fiscal year 2023, a 13% increase over fiscal year 2022. Highlighting its priority to protect and encourage whistleblowers, the SEC took forceful action to protect whistleblowers’ rights, including settling charges against a firm that attempted to impede employees’ ability to report potential securities laws violations to the SEC.

• Rewarding meaningful cooperation: The SEC highlighted that it continues to reward meaningful cooperation, referencing several settled actions in fiscal year 2023 where the SEC imposed lower or no civil penalties on companies that self-reported misconduct. For example, the SEC referenced charges it settled against broker-dealer Perella Weinberg regarding recordkeeping failures. As Perella Weinberg self-reported, it paid a substantially lower civil monetary penalty than other firms that were charged as part of the initiative but had not self-reported.