WSJ: SEC Slow to Collect on Enforcement Penalties and Fines

The SEC has struggled to collect fines and penalties levied on financial wrongdoers and has written off $10 billion in fines levied since 2009, the Wall Street Journal reports. Over the five fiscal years ended in September 2018 the SEC collected 55% of $20 billion in enforcement fines, and from 2009 to 2013 it collected 60% of $14.6 billion, the WSJ reported based on its review of SEC statistics. The SEC confirmed the WSJ’s estimate of its $10 billion in write-offs and said the step is taken for accounting purposes. According to the report, SEC staff continues to attempt to collect penalties and fines even though they have been written off.