The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the SEC’s broad authority to disgorge ill-gotten gains in securities fraud cases, ruling that the agency does not need to prove that specific investors lost money for disgorgement to be appropriate.

Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the opinion, stating that it is sufficient to show that Sripetch profited from illegal transactions and that an investor may be a victim entitled to compensation.

Traditionally, disgorgement is limited to the amount of illegally obtained profits and returned to investors when feasible; the ruling broadens the scope of disgorgement under federal law and prior Supreme Court rulings.

The article, reported by Jessica Corso on June 4, 2026, highlights a high court decision affecting enforcement practice.

Background shows Sripetch was sentenced to over a year in prison in 2022 for related stock fraud schemes, with the SEC pursuing civil charges separately.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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The article notes the SEC can pursue fines, sanctions, and other penalties beyond disgorgement, and references a 2024 Supreme Court ruling limiting the SEC’s in-house enforcement of certain penalties due to the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial.

Disgorgement figures cited include about $1.4 billion for fiscal 2025 under the Trump administration and $6.1 billion in the prior year under Biden, illustrating the scale of the remedy.

The article places disgorgement in broader enforcement context, highlighting the continued impact under current administration with substantial sums in both recent fiscal years.

The ruling reinforces regulatory consistency and the SEC’s ongoing focus on fraud prevention as a core objective of disgorgement enforcement.

The case centers on Ongkaruck Sripetch, a Los Angeles penny-stock promoter convicted in related pump-and-dump schemes, who challenged the SEC’s attempt to disgorge $4.1 million.