The WSJ reports that during the five-year period from FY 2006 through FY 2010, the SEC imposed $11.33 billion in fines and disgorgement on defendants but only recovered about two thirds of those funds. Since FY 2006 began in September 2005, the SEC has recovered $7.55 billion in fines and disgorgement, but is still owed the remaining $3.78 billion.
The CFTC has had less success in collections that the SEC during that period, recovering just over a quarter ($257 million) of the $1 billion in fines it has imposed. The WSJ points out that, like many plaintiffs, the agencies face challenges in recovering from certain defendants who simply do not have the ability to pay a hefty fine or judgment.
The SEC has been active in returning money to injured investors in recent years, distributing over $2 billion in FY 2009 and nearly $2 billion in FY 2010. As an SEC spokesperson put it, that is a return of "two dollars to harmed investors for every dollar Congress spent on the entire SEC budget."
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