The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought 671 enforcement actions in fiscal year 2008, the second-highest total in the agency's history.
The SEC also repeated last year's total of distributing more than $1 billion to investors harmed by others' actions during fiscal 2008, which ended on Sept. 30.The agency looks forward to continuing its investor protection mission in the upcoming year, said Linda Chatman Thomsen, director of the SEC's division of enforcement.
"The SEC's role in policing the markets and protecting investors has never been more critical," Thomsen said.
The agency's higher enforcement caseload includes a spike of more than 25 percent in insider trading cases and more than 45 percent in market manipulation cases, compared with fiscal 2007 actions. The SEC also reported that it is conducting more than 50 investigations related to the subprime mortgage market.
The agency's major fraud cases include a suit against two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers for misleading investors about two of the company's hedge funds. SEC v. Cioffi, No. 1:08-cv-02457 (E.D.N.Y.).
The SEC also settled a high-profile market manipulation and securities fraud case against a Wall Street short seller for spreading false rumors about a company and profiting from the stock price's subsequent drop. SEC v. Berliner, No. 1:08-cv-03859 (S.D.N.Y.).
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