By
John Carney and Jenna Felz
Forbes
Originally posted on June 26, 2014
With
the appointment of Chairwoman Mary Jo White, President Obama made clear that a
tough cop would run the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and make
enforcement a top priority. This
pro-enforcement, “tough cop,” stance is nothing new to an agency with a storied
history of investigating and civilly prosecuting some of the biggest frauds on
Wall Street. But what is new is the
Chairwoman’s tactical decision to redeploy significant enforcement resources on
small, non-criminal violations.
Chairwoman White underscored the importance of the SEC’s role as “tough
cop” especially in cases “when there is no criminal violation,” declaring that
the SEC “is the only agency that can play that role.” These bold statements signal the SEC’s
renewed focus on policing not only illegal, but also unethical, conduct.
