SEC Disgorgement: Looking to the Future

On March 3, 2020, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Liu v. SEC, No. 18-1501. This article summarizes what transpired at the hearing, in which the arguments centered on a challenge to the ability of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to obtain disgorgement as an “equitable remedy” for securities law violations.

During the oral arguments, the Justices’ questions indicated that they appeared reluctant to entirely do away with disgorgement, but rather their queries focused on whether limitations should be placed on the SEC’s continuing use of disgorgement as an equitable remedy. Specifically, the Justices expressed interest in exploring parameters and limitations regarding how disgorgement is calculated and whether the SEC or defrauded investors are entitled to any disgorged funds.

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The SEC’s SCSD Initiative Second Wave and the Applicability of the President’s Recent Executive Order

On September 30, 2019, the SEC ordered an additional 16 self-reporting investment advisory firms to pay nearly $10 million in disgorgement. Some have referred to this as the “second wave” of the SEC Division of Enforcement’s Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (“SCSD Initiative”). It’s unclear if there will be another “wave” of SCSD Initiative settlements. What is clear, though, is that the number of self-reporting firms charged by the SEC so far totals ninety-five. When the SCSD Initiative was first announced many anticipated that the tally of firms charged would number in the hundreds, but the number remains under 100.

While the number of self-reporting firms is still significant and indicates that this was an industry issue, it may also signal that many firms elected to take their chances and not self-report. Along those lines, the SEC also announced that same day a settlement against a firm that did not self-report. Many will recall that the Division of Enforcement touted in the SCSD Initiative announcement and in public statements thereafter that qualifying firms that did not self-report could face significant penalties, additional charges, and possible charges against individuals. Yet, the settlement released with this “second wave” had none of that. The civil penalty ordered against this firm was not a multiple of the disgorgement amount–but rather a fraction–approximately one-third. This ratio is in the general range of the penalty-to-disgorgement ratios that the SEC typically seeks in standard settlements that do not involve the issue of whether a qualifying firm failed to self-report. That said, the order did specifically advise that the SEC considered the cooperation and remedial acts promptly undertaken taken by the respondent.

Many have voiced the opinion that the SCSD Initiative was a prime example of “regulation by enforcement.” Interestingly, on October 9, 2019, the President issued an “Executive Order on Promoting the Rule of Law Through Transparency and Fairness in Civil Administrative Enforcement and Adjudication.” While Executive Orders do not technically apply to the SEC, or other independent regulatory agencies, in practice the head of an independent regulatory agency may determine to honor the spirit and/or letter of a presidential directive.

This Executive Order provides:

The rule of law requires transparency. Regulated parties must know in advance the rules by which the Federal Government will judge their actions.
* * *

No person should be subjected to a civil administrative enforcement action or adjudication absent prior public notice of both the enforcing agency’s jurisdiction over particular conduct and the legal standards applicable to that conduct.
* * *

Sec. 4. Fairness and Notice in Administrative Enforcement Actions and Adjudications. When an agency takes an administrative enforcement action, engages in adjudication, or otherwise makes a determination that has legal consequence for a person, it may apply only standards of conduct that have been publicly stated in a manner that would not cause unfair surprise. An agency must avoid unfair surprise not only when it imposes penalties but also whenever it adjudges past conduct to have violated the law.

While this may not technically apply to the SEC, the tone and language of this Executive Order is similar to the views expressed by SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce in her SECret Garden speech at SEC Speaks this past spring. With the SCSD Initiative hopefully fading into the past, perhaps the leadership at the SEC will scrutinize “regulation by enforcement” initiatives in the future more closely.

SEC Settles Charges of Auditor Independence Violations for $8 Million

The SEC announced settlements with an auditing firm (the “Firm”) and one of its partners relating to violations of certain auditor independence rules involving nineteen audit engagements with fifteen SEC-registrant issuers.

More specifically, the SEC found the Firm and its partner violated the Commission’s and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s (“PCAOB”) auditor independence rules. The alleged conduct involved performing prohibited non-audit services, including exercising decision-making authority in the design and implementation of software relating to one of its issuer client’s financial reporting as well as engaging in management functions for the company. The partner was responsible for supervising the performance of the prohibited non-audit services. Additionally, the SEC charged additional PCAOB-rule violations for failing to notify the clients’ audit committees about the non-audit services. The SEC described these failures as “mischaracterized non-audit services” despite the services involving financial software “that were planned to be implemented in a subsequent audit period and providing feedback to management on those systems—areas outside the realm of audit work.” The partner was also charged with providing material, non-public information concerning an issuer to a software company without the issuer’s consent.

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Broker Pays $2.5 Million Fine for Using Market Volatility to Hide Markups Yielding Unearned Commissions

Last week, Louis Capital Markets, L.P. (“LCM”) agreed to disgorge $2.5 million in settlement of charges that it charged false execution prices to its customers in order to generate secret commissions.

LCM executed orders to purchase and sell securities for its clients, without holding any securities in its own account and thus bore no market risk, i.e., riskless principal trades. It purported to generate profits by charging customers small commissions, typically between $0.01 and $0.03 per share. LCM, however, unbeknownst to customers, inflated those commissions, by embedding undisclosed markups and markdowns into reported execution prices. LCM provided those false execution prices—either lower sales prices or higher purchase prices than LCM actually obtained in the market—to its customers. Critically, LCM did not engage in this deceptive behavior for every trade, rather “LCM opportunistically added markups/markdowns to trades at times when customers were unlikely to detect them, for example, during periods of market volatility.” (Order ¶ 13.) By engaging in these acts, LCM “unlawfully obtained millions of dollars from its customers.” (Order at 2.)

Without admitting or denying the findings, LCM agreed disgorge $2.5 million and to cease-and-desist violating Section 15(c)(1), which prohibits fraudulent conduct by broker-dealers. The SEC noted that while the conduct would support a civil penalty, it considered LCM’s financial status and accepted LCM’s offer that did not include one. Interestingly, LCM’s customers were “primarily large foreign institutions and foreign banks,” demonstrating the SEC’s commitment to eradicate fraud regardless of sophistication of investors.

Update: SCOTUS Will Consider Statute of Limitations on Disgorgement

We previously wrote about how the SEC urged the Supreme Court to grant certiorari in Kokesh v. SEC, and on Friday, January 13, the Court did just that. In an order without comment, the Court granted certiorari after both the petitioner and the SEC requested the Court’s review, albeit for different reasons. While the petitioner believes he should not be subject to disgorgement for ill-gotten gains that were obtained more than five years ago, the SEC wants the Court to bring clarity to the circuit split that has developed since the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in SEC v. Graham, which held that the five-year statute of limitations applies to disgorgement. As we previously noted, the SEC argued that Graham impedes its ability to achieve uniformity in the administration of securities laws.

We will continue to monitor developments in this case, which is sure to shape the timing of future SEC enforcement investigations and actions and the remedies it will seek.

SEC Urges Supreme Court to Consider Nature of Disgorgement

We previously posted about how the Southern District of Florida’s and Eleventh Circuit’s decisions in SEC v. Graham undermined the SEC’s long-held position that disgorgement was not subject to the five-year statute of limitations. The SEC recently asked the Supreme Court to examine that decision by joining the petitioner’s request for certiorari in Kokesh v. SEC, a case in which the Tenth Circuit affirmed an award of disgorgement, holding that the five-year statute of limitations did not apply.

In Kokesh, the SEC obtained a final judgment in 2014 that included nearly $35 million of disgorgement that covered ill-gotten gains obtained as far back as 1995. The Tenth Circuit affirmed the final award, diverging with Graham, and holding that disgorgement was not a penalty or forfeiture to which the five-year statute of limitations applied.  Kokesh applied for certiorari.

Last week, the SEC urged the Supreme Court to take the case. While briefly stating that the Tenth Circuit correctly ruled that disgorgement is not a penalty or forfeiture to which the statute of limitations applies, the SEC argued that “the issue is important to the administration of the securities laws, and the courts of appeals have reached conflicting conclusions” thereby warranting the Court’s review. Without the Supreme Court’s resolution, the SEC argued that it “is currently impeded by the decision in Graham from obtaining the full disgorgement remedies to which it is entitled” and described Graham as “a significant obstacle to national uniformity in administration of the securities laws.”

If the Supreme Court takes the case, the decision will directly impact the timing of SEC enforcement investigations and actions, as well as the types of remedies the SEC will seek. If the Court declines to grant certiorari, the SEC will likely try to seek different remedies in different jurisdictions for the same conduct. In the meantime, the SEC has increased its requests for tolling agreements in ongoing investigations in an apparent attempt to preserve its ability to seek the full range of remedies in the event that the investigation leads to the filing of an action.

Update: IRS, SEC, and Courts Diverge on Nature of Disgorgement

We previously wrote about decisions in SEC v. Graham from the Eleventh Circuit,  __ F.3d __, No. 14-13562, 2016 WL 3033605 (11th Cir. May 26, 2016), and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, 21 F. Supp. 3d 1300 (S.D. Fla. 2014), considering whether disgorgement claims and other remedies were subject to five-year statute of limitations on actions “for the enforcement of any civil fine, penalty, or forfeiture” codified in 28 U.S.C. § 2462. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the decision of the lower court that the SEC’s disgorgement claims were time-barred, holding that “disgorgement” is synonymous with the plain meaning of “forfeiture” as it is used in the statute.

On May 6, 2016—shortly before the Eleventh Circuit issued its ruling in Graham—the IRS published non-precedential Chief Counsel Advice (“CCA”) on whether Internal Revenue Code Section 162(f) bars business expense deductions for disgorgement paid to the SEC of profits stemming from alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). The disgorgement payments were part of a consent agreement between the SEC and the taxpayer, whose subsidiary allegedly falsified accounting records in order to conceal gifts it made to officials of a foreign government in exchange for business benefits. The taxpayer paid additional penalties for which it specifically agreed it would not seek a tax deduction in a parallel agreement with the DOJ relating to the criminal case against taxpayer’s subsidiary. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer’s disgorgement payments were not deductible business expenses under § 162(f), which prohibits deduction of any “fine or similar penalty paid to a government for the violation of any law” as a business expense.

As explained in the CCA, § 162(f) has been interpreted to bar deductions of civil penalties where they are “imposed for purposes of enforcing the law and as punishment,” but to allow deduction of civil penalties if “imposed to encourage prompt compliance with a requirement of the law”—for example, “late filing charges or other interest charges”—or “as a remedial measure to compensate another party.”  Emphasizing that disgorgement in securities cases has deterrent aims, is a discretionary remedy, and might be required even if there is no injured party or in amounts exceeding actual losses, the IRS determined that whether disgorgement is primarily punitive or primarily compensatory for the purpose§ 162(f) is a fact-specific inquiry. Additionally, disgorgement imposed as a “discretionary equitable remedy” or where the proceeds are used to compensate victims might still be primarily punitive if it resembles forfeiture, which remains non-deductible even when used to compensate victims. With respect to the FCPA disgorgement the taxpayer had made to the SEC, the IRS concluded that its purpose was primarily punitive, and therefore it could not be deducted, because there was no evidence that it was meant to compensate the government or some other party for loss.

The SEC, the IRS, and the Eleventh Circuit have thus articulated three distinct characterizations of disgorgement. To avoid the limitations period of § 2462, the SEC’s position, adopted by the D.C. Circuit in Johnson v. SEC, 87 F.3d 484 (D.C. Cir. 1996), has been that disgorgement is a non-punitive equitable remedy. In the IRS’s view, disgorgement to the SEC may—but perhaps does not always—have a punitive purpose that bars tax deduction. The Eleventh Circuit has equated the statutory definitions of disgorgement and forfeiture, without commenting on whether disgorgement to the SEC is a “penalty.”

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