Where do SEC fines go?

May 18, 2004 5:35 AM

So Lucent got fined yesterday, to the tune of mamny millions of dollars, byt the SEC for the criminal euphemism of Account Irregularities.
Like other high profile SEC investigations, why do they always mention the fine, but never discuss where the funds go?
Are they used to offset the defrauded investor's losses? Or does the gov't turn the investor's loss into it's gain by keeping the fine for its own purposes?
posted by Fupped Duck to Law & Government (3 answers total)

I can't speak for the SEC, but when I worked for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, fines went into the NRC's coffers. The amount however was a scant fraction of the NRC's overall budget. In many cases, any one fine barely paid for the administrative costs of levying that fine.
posted by mischief at 6:04 AM on May 18, 2004

It all seems a bit vague. "Where Does All the Settlement Money Go? Maybe not where you think." from On Wall Street.

In cases brought by government regulators, most of the money will wind up in state and federal general coffers.

But:

Congress seems set to make sure that the SEC returns part of the cash it receives in the form of fines and censures to defrauded customers. [In some cases] the SEC has asked courts to appoint a trustee or claims administrator who sets up a fund to distribute disgorgement money to investors who have been harmed.
posted by chrismear at 6:25 AM on May 18, 2004

Not that anybody will be reading this this thread at this point, but here's an article in the Washinton Post about investor restitution.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 12:53 PM on May 19, 2004