The North American Securities Administrators Association’s (NASAA) recently released annual enforcement report determined securities regulators were responsible for $1 billion in monetary relief as a result of enforcement actions.
“This report shows that NASAA members are on the frontlines of investor protection,” Christopher Gerold, NASAA president and chief of the New Jersey Bureau of Securities, said. “State and provincial securities regulators stand ready to aggressively protect investors from fraud and police the integrity of our capital markets well into the 21st century.”
The report, which was generated using 2018 data, included responses from 50 states and the District of Columbia and showed securities regulators conducted 5,320 investigations in 2018 and took 2,067 enforcement actions overall.
The actions led to more than $558 million in restitution ordered returned to investors, fines of $490 million and criminal relief of 1,753 years, including incarceration and probation.
Per the report, state securities regulators continued to take strong steps to prevent potential violators from operating within the licensed securities industry while limiting the activity of licensees and registrants.
Last year, NASAA’s domestic members imposed licensing sanctions on nearly 1,000 respondents, and more than 4,500 license/registration requests were withdrawn as a result of state action or attention.