For 31 years, the agency has tried and failed to collect a $62 million judgment against the former corporate raider for securities fraud. To avoid paying the penalty, Bilzerian pleaded poverty and twice declared bankruptcy. He later moved to the island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, beyond the reach of the U.S. government.
The financier told The Wall Street Journal in 2014 that he "would rather starve to death than earn a dollar to feed myself and pay the government a penny of it." So far, he has mostly succeeded.
This fall, federal prosecutors charged Bilzerian, 74 years old, with new crimes they say he committed with millions of dollars he had hidden from the SEC. He hasn't answered the charges, and declined to comment.
The case is emblematic of the commission's long struggle to enforce its judgments against individuals who go to great lengths to avoid paying them. And in other circumstances, the SEC publicizes penalties that it will never collect because defendants can receive waivers if they make payments in related criminal or overseas cases. Those two dynamics mean the SEC typically brings in less money than it appears.
In 2023, the commission touted court orders or settlements representing $4.9 billion in financial sanctions. But it also wrote off $1.4 billion in penalties levied in prior years, according to data obtained by the Journal.
Over the past 10 years, the SEC has written off almost $10 billion in penalties, according to the data, which the Journal obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
"If we are going to advertise the numbers that we are imposing, we ought to be transparent about the fact that does not mean that money is flowing to the government and to investors," said Commissioner Hester Peirce, a Republican member of the SEC.
This story is from the January 02, 2025 edition of Mint New Delhi.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 02, 2025 edition of Mint New Delhi.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
NRIs: TDS compliance for share buybacks
As a resident Indian promoter of a private limited company, I'm buying back shares from a non-resident individual who helped secure export orders. Does this payment fall under the LRS, and what TCS/TDS applies?
How To Avoid A Dumping Flood
Trump's tariff war with China will also needle some Indian manufacturers
A Four-Point Budget Wish List for Indian Agriculture
Income, climate, natural resources, and human resource crisis weigh on agriculture
Co-investor exit rules need re-look
India-based venture capital and private equity firms have petitioned the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to reconsider rules that mandate their co-investors exit alongside the fund, three people familiar with the development said.
Zomato backs Blinkit expansion amid losses
Zomato's Q3 profit drops 57%, weighed down by quick-commerce arm
Women, skip the bro-split and try the flow-split
Exercise plans aligned to menstrual cycles can be effective for women
LTIMindtree's global markets head quits
L TIMindtree Ltd's president of global markets, Sudhir Chaturvedi, has quit the company, leaving chief operating officer Nachiket Deshpande as the frontrunner to succeed current chief executive Debashis Chatterjee, whose term ends later this year.
Go First fails to take off, NCLT orders liquidation
Creditors await dues as airline's 20-month-long insolvency process ends
Private banking booms as ranks of super-rich swell
According to the Hurun India Rich List 2024, India saw one new billionaire every five days in the past year
Does India's Fiscal Profile Need A Facelift?
The role of fiscal policy becomes more crucial in the current cyclical slowdown
