SEC settles record $8.2 billion enforcement action...Most of it at TerraForm Labs

Terraform Labs' $4.5 billion settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) marks the agency's largest fine collection in history.
According to reports, the SEC is expected to pay $8.2 billion in fines and penalties in enforcement actions in fiscal year 2024, a new record high.
They did, thanks in large part to a major settlement with cryptocurrency company Terraform Labs.
In its Nov. 22 annual filing, the SEC said it plans to impose $8.2 billion in damages during fiscal year 2024 (ending Sept. 30).
This is the largest amount in the SEC's history and comes despite a 26% decrease in the number of cases to 583 from the previous year.
More than half of the total amount comes from the SEC's legal victory against Terraform Labs and its CEO, Do Kwon.
In 2022, the company was found guilty of fraud that led to billions of dollars in losses in the collapse of the blockchain ecosystem, and paid a $4.47 billion settlement.
Without the Labs fine, the SEC would have collected $3.72 billion, marking its worst year on record for financial penalties since 2013, when it collected $3.4 billion.
The SEC collected $2.1 billion in fines and a record $6.1 billion in unjust enrichment restitution, a measure to return illegal profits to victimized investors.
"The Enforcement Division's role is to act as a steadfast watchdog, holding wrongdoers accountable based on the facts and the law," SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said in a statement.
The record year comes at the end of Gensler's four-year term as chairman, after he was named chairman under Donald Trump.
He is scheduled to step down on January 20, 2025, when the next President-elect Trump takes office.