Supreme Court to Review SEC Power to Recoup Illegal Gains

The US Supreme Court in Washington on January 9.

Photographer: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

The US Supreme Court will consider how much power the Securities and Exchange Commission has to recover illegal profits in a case that could blunt one of the agency’s most potent enforcement tools.

The justices said Friday they will decide whether the SEC must show identifiable investor harm in order to win “disgorgement” from people and firms found to have engaged in securities fraud.