SEC Closes Fiscal Year with 348 Actions and $1.095 Billion in Penalties and Disgorgement

Between October 2025 and September 2026 it brought 348 enforcement actions (235 standalone) and suspended trading in 13 Asian issuers over suspected manipulation. It ordered $1.095 billion, including $343 million in penalties, and returned some $731 million to more than 250,000 investors.

In crypto, highlights include charges against three purported trading platforms and four “investment clubs” that allegedly drew in at least 14 million retail investors, and against the founder of a bitcoin mining company who allegedly raised more than $95.6 million from some 6,400 investors and misappropriated $48.5 million. The SEC now speaks of superintelligence-driven manipulation schemes and has an Office of Superintelligence and Analytics.

Washington D.C., November 10, 2026 .- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today announced its enforcement results for the last fiscal year, which ended on September 30. Throughout this fiscal year, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement remained focused on its core responsibility: protecting investors, holding wrongdoers accountable and safeguarding the integrity of U.S. capital markets. The Division also continues to modernize its organization, processes and technology, and launched several new initiatives in 2026 that will ensure its effectiveness in the years ahead.

Enforcement with impact

The enforcement actions filed in fiscal year 2026 demonstrate the Division’s continued commitment to rigorous and effective enforcement of the law, focused on serious and high-impact violations of the federal securities laws, including fraud, market manipulation, insider trading, failures and misconduct by gatekeepers, and violations that undermine the integrity of disclosures and financial reporting. The cases highlight the nature and seriousness of the misconduct, the magnitude of investor harm and the pursuit of effective remedies. Two-thirds of all standalone enforcement actions filed in fiscal year 2026 included charges against at least one individual, reflecting the Division’s continued commitment to maximizing deterrence and holding wrongdoers accountable. 

In fiscal year 2026, the Commission filed 348 enforcement actions, including 235 standalone actions and 113 follow-on administrative proceedings seeking to bar or suspend individuals from certain securities market activities based on criminal convictions, civil injunctions or other qualifying orders. The Commission also issued 13 trading suspensions in response to the alleged manipulation of securities of Asia-based issuers.

In addition, the Commission obtained orders for monetary relief totaling $1.095 billion, comprising $752 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and $343 million in civil penalties. A court, in a separate proceeding unrelated to the SEC, deemed $235 million of the ordered disgorgement satisfied. The SEC also returned approximately $731 million to more than 250,000 harmed investors.

“The success of the SEC’s enforcement program is ultimately measured by how effectively it advances the SEC’s mission, protects investors, holds wrongdoers accountable and strengthens confidence in our markets,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. “Enforcement actions and financial penalties are important indicators of activity, but they are neither the only nor the most telling ones. Our responsibility is to enforce the law fairly and consistently, and to ensure that our enforcement efforts advance the Commission’s mission. I commend the staff for their dedication to an effective and disciplined enforcement program that benefits the investing public.”

“Our approach is focused on conducting rigorous investigations, pursuing misconduct with serious consequences and achieving meaningful results for investors,” said David Woodcock, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “During the fiscal year, we reviewed our investigations inventory, strengthened our investigative capabilities and launched several new initiatives that will position the Division even more strongly for the future. These efforts have resulted in an enforcement program that is more focused, effective and prepared to address both long-standing and emerging threats to our markets.”

Preparing the Division of Enforcement for the future

In fiscal year 2026, the Division worked to modernize its organization and processes to increase its investigative and litigation capacity, address evolving market risks and deliver more timely and effective results that will ensure its effectiveness in the years to come. The Division also invested in its leadership team with a new training program for supervisors. In addition, through strategic hiring in key areas, the Division brought on attorneys, accountants, technologists and data specialists to strengthen its team of experts and accelerate its critical investigative work.

Organizational improvements

In fiscal year 2026, the Division made significant organizational improvements.

The Division  created the Retail Fraud Working Group (RFWG) to strengthen its ability to identify and address fraudulent schemes, including Ponzi schemes and offering frauds, impersonation scams, broker misconduct, false and fraudulent filings, and market manipulation schemes, as well as other misconduct that poses significant risks to everyday investors. Drawing on the expertise of attorneys across the Division, the RFWG employs targeted, data-driven strategies, including Super Intelligence (SI) and the analysis of information from multiple regulatory and law enforcement sources, to uncover potential violations and generate investigative leads for referral throughout the Division. In fiscal year 2026, the RFWG reviewed numerous tips and complaints, generated referrals related to alleged fraud and other violations affecting retail investors, and conducted extensive outreach with other regulators, industry participants and investors. More than a dozen new investigations have already been opened as a result of the RFWG’s efforts.

In addition, the Division expanded its capacity to address complex accounting and financial reporting fraud schemes, as well as other misconduct involving accountants and auditors, by creating a new  Financial Reporting and Accounting Unit (FRAU) . The FRAU combines the skills of attorneys and accountants with deep expertise in accounting standards, issuer disclosures, internal accounting controls, books-and-records requirements and auditor responsibilities. This concentration of expertise strengthens the Division’s ability to detect patterns of financial misconduct, promotes a disciplined and consistent approach to evaluating potential violations and ensures technically rigorous enforcement recommendations. The FRAU is already improving the Division’s effectiveness by identifying issues earlier in the reporting cycle, building stronger and more analytically precise cases, and accelerating the time needed to deliver meaningful investor protection. These early results underscore the FRAU’s role as a cornerstone of the Division’s efforts to modernize the enforcement program and as an enhanced safeguard for the integrity of the financial reporting ecosystem.

Complementing these improvements, the Division launched the Office of Superintelligence and Analytics, a specialized office designed to embed advanced analytical capabilities directly into investigative workflows, leverage resources and strengthen the Division’s overall ability to protect investors. The office uses data-driven techniques and artificial intelligence tools to identify patterns of misconduct early, improve the efficiency of investigations and detect emerging threats in the markets. Its work includes AI-powered anomaly detection, accelerated review of documents and transcripts, and enhanced analysis of blockchain and financial flows. The office enables the Division to better address rapidly evolving threats, particularly in the areas of fraud, cybersecurity and AI-driven manipulation schemes.

The Division also reorganized its Trial Unit to improve consistency in its litigation docket and expand its overall capacity in this area. Following the reorganization, the Chief Litigation Counsel oversees the new Deputy Chief Litigation Counsels, who supervise the Division’s trial attorneys across all of the Commission’s offices. The Division also streamlined the Trial Unit’s case management processes to improve its ability to oversee cases filed across the country.   

Investing in Division leadership

During fiscal year 2026, the Division invested in its leadership team by launching a formal leadership training program for both new and experienced supervisors. This program, which will continue beyond the fiscal year, is helping the Division build a strong pool of skilled leaders and prepare its next generation for success in the years ahead.

The Division also implemented a new performance management process in which senior officials take part in bimonthly meetings with senior leadership to review investigation timelines, milestones and staffing levels. This process ensures that the Division identifies risks early and completes investigative milestones in a timely and efficient manner, thereby delivering effective protection for investors.

Strengthening interagency coordination

The Commission expanded its reach over the past year through memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with key partners. The Commission signed an  MOU with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that deepens enforcement collaboration related to market integrity and complex financial products, enabling more efficient information sharing and joint oversight of misconduct across the securities and derivatives markets. In addition, the Commission signed an  MOU with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that improves coordination in monitoring disclosures and compliance issues affecting life sciences companies, and strengthens safeguards where securities law intersects with product regulatory obligations. The Division also continued its longstanding close coordination with the PCAOB, ensuring that auditor misconduct and audit deficiencies are identified and addressed quickly and efficiently.

The Division filed numerous enforcement actions in parallel with criminal authorities during fiscal year 2026, seeking complementary remedies such as targeted injunctions, asset freezes and associational bars. The Division also worked closely with international regulators and law enforcement on multijurisdictional fraud matters, reflecting the global nature of emerging schemes.