The New York Times reports that "In the first quarter of 2009, the S.E.C. reached 182 new financial settlements, according to NERA Economic Consulting. That compares with 157 in the year-ago period and 123 in the previous quarter."Given all the well-deserved criticism that was directed at the SEC during Chris Cox's reign, a tenure characterized by a laissez-faire attitude toward regulation that ended with disastrous results, it's not surprising that Mary L. Schapiro is picking up the pace.
Whether it's the right thing to do is debatable. By settling these cases quickly and in most cases, quietly, the SEC is basically allowing crooks to make a business decision: Settle now and avoid the risks and expenses of protracted litigation. Best of all, you don't even have to admit that you're guilty!
Take a look through the world of penny stock swindlers and you'll see tons of people who have settled cases with the SEC and are back doing the same thing the day after signing the consent decree. For legal reasons I won't name any names but in many cases, these settlements don't prevent people from coming back and screwing innocent people.
We need the SEC to take more people to court and refer more cases to the Justice Department. These deals that let crook pay a small fine without admitting any wrongdoing are not the answer to corporate malfeasance.
Closing Bell: Economic Catapult for Thanksgiving & Black Friday (WMT, TGT, GRMN, GOOG, MSFT)
Deere up on Q4 earnings performance
Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn will go public (at some point)
