The Supreme Court has preserved an important tool used by securities regulators to recoup ill-gotten gains in fraud cases.
The justices said by an 8-1 vote Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission can seek to recover the money through a process called disgorgement.
Last year, the SEC obtained $3.2 billion in repayment of profits from people who have been found to violate securities law.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the court that the award must be limited to no more than “a wrongdoer’s net profits."
Justice Clarence Thomas dissented.
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