Congress tucked a nice surprise for the SEC Enforcement Division deep inside the voluminous National Defense Authorization Act. Section 6501 of the measure, enacted on Jan. 1 via an override of a presidential veto, explicitly authorizes the SEC to bring claims for disgorgement in federal district courts and extends the limitations period for fraud-based disgorgement claims from five to 10 years.
The Kokesh Legacy
The legislation resolves a problem resulting from the Supreme Court’s 2017 Kokesh decision. In that case, the Court found that disgorgement orders were penalties and thus subject to the five-year statute of limitations in 28...