SEC enforcement

“Our whistle-blower program is a critical component in our investor-protection toolbox,” SEC Chairman Jay Clayton says.

Other states are likely to enter similar agreements with the broker-dealer.

The advisor defrauded some 100 clients by persuading them to invest more than $71 million in 16 private funds offered by his two investment advisory companies, the SEC claims.

Co-chiefs of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement tout a program aimed at repaying investors for excessive mutual fund fees as a new approach to curbing industry abuses.

The funds paid for multiple vehicles, bedroom furniture and debts at casinos, prosecutors say.

The misconduct is so pervasive that the regulator is temporarily allowing violators to come forward.

The trade group cautions that the SEC could outsource advisor oversight due to low examination rates.

While some are mainstays, there are a few new ones to add to the list this year.

The second-largest independent broker-dealer overcharged nearly 1,800 retail retirement accounts, the regulator says.

Investigators say the broker spent his clients’ money on luxury cars and home improvements.