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Title 15, Commerce and TradeRelease 119-110

§7246 Fair Funds for Investors

Title 15 › CHAPTER 98 — PUBLIC COMPANY ACCOUNTING REFORM AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY › SUBCHAPTER III — CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY › § 7246

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

When the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gets a civil penalty in a court or administrative case, or a person agrees to pay one in a settlement, that penalty money must be put into a disgorgement or similar fund for the victims of the wrongdoing. The SEC can also accept gifts, bequests, and donated property for that fund. Money from gifts or from selling donated property must go into the fund and can be used to help victims. The SEC must study enforcement actions from the five years before July 30, 2002 that included civil penalties or disgorgements, and other ways to give fair and efficient restitution and to improve collection rates. The SEC must report the findings to the House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs within 180 days after July 30, 2002, and use the results to update its rules. The report must say what regulatory or legislative steps are recommended.

Full Legal Text

Title 15, §7246

Commerce and Trade, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Civil penalties to be used for the relief of victims
If, in any judicial or administrative action brought by the Commission under the securities laws, the Commission obtains a civil penalty against any person for a violation of such laws, or such person agrees, in settlement of any such action, to such civil penalty, the amount of such civil penalty shall, on the motion or at the direction of the Commission, be added to and become part of a disgorgement fund or other fund established for the benefit of the victims of such violation.
(b)Acceptance of additional donations
The Commission is authorized to accept, hold, administer, and utilize gifts, bequests and devises of property, both real and personal, to the United States for a disgorgement fund or other fund described in subsection (a). Such gifts, bequests, and devises of money and proceeds from sales of other property received as gifts, bequests, or devises shall be deposited in such fund and shall be available for allocation in accordance with subsection (a).
(c)Study required
(1)Subject of study
The Commission shall review and analyze—
(A)enforcement actions by the Commission over the five years preceding July 30, 2002, that have included proceedings to obtain civil penalties or disgorgements to identify areas where such proceedings may be utilized to efficiently, effectively, and fairly provide restitution for injured investors; and
(B)other methods to more efficiently, effectively, and fairly provide restitution to injured investors, including methods to improve the collection rates for civil penalties and disgorgements.
(2)Report required
The Commission shall report its findings to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate within 180 days after of July 30, 2002, and shall use such findings to revise its rules and regulations as necessary. The report shall include a discussion of regulatory or legislative actions that are recommended or that may be necessary to address concerns identified in the study.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section is comprised of section 308 of Pub. L. 107–204. Subsec. (d) of section 308 of Pub. L. 107–204 amended section 77t, 78u, 78u–1, 80a–41, and 80b–9 of this title.

Amendments

2010—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–203, § 929B(1), added subsec. (a) and struck out former subsec. (a). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “If in any judicial or administrative action brought by the Commission under the securities laws (as such term is defined in section 78c(a)(47) of this title) the Commission obtains an order requiring disgorgement against any person for a violation of such laws or the rules or

Regulations

thereunder, or such person agrees in settlement of any such action to such disgorgement, and the Commission also obtains pursuant to such laws a civil penalty against such person, the amount of such civil penalty shall, on the motion or at the direction of the Commission, be added to and become part of the disgorgement fund for the benefit of the victims of such violation.” Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 111–203, § 929B(2), substituted “for a disgorgement fund or other fund described in subsection (a)” for “for a disgorgement fund described in subsection (a)” and “in such fund” for “in the disgorgement fund”. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 111–203, § 929B(3), struck out subsec. (e). Text read as follows: “As used in this section, the term ‘disgorgement fund’ means a fund established in any administrative or judicial proceeding described in subsection (a) of this section.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2010 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 111–203 effective 1 day after July 21, 2010, except as otherwise provided, see section 4 of Pub. L. 111–203, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 5301 of Title 12, Banks and Banking.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

15 U.S.C. § 7246

Title 15, Commerce and Trade

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110