Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro joined a bipartisan coalition Attorneys General fighting to help defrauded investors get their money back from scammers.
On Thursday, AG Shapiro said the coalition filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court expressing their support for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in case in which the petitioners are challenging the regulator’s authority to enter a disgorgement award in civil enforcement action.
Disgorgement means the act of returning or repaying ill-gotten profits as ordered by the courts on individuals or companies engaged in fraudulent schemes. It is a sure way to compensate victims of securities fraud.
Supporting arguments for the SEC
In the amicus brief, the coalition argued that removing the ability of the SEC to impose disgorgement order is harmful to individual and business investors as well as to the amici States because it will embolden bad actors.
It will also harm the Commission’s enforcement action because it will lose an important tool that discourages fraud and will undermine the stability of the securities markets.
