S.E.C. Goes After Musk With Its 'Ul...
S.E.C. Goes After Musk With Its 'Ultimate' Penalty. Here's Who Else Has Been Barred.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Elon Musk, Tesla's chief executive, of committing fraud when he said on Twitter: "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured."
The S.E.C. says Mr. Musk had not had specific conversations about financing when he made that announcement, and so his tweet amounted to a false public statement with the potential to harm investors.
It is seeking to prevent Mr. Musk from ever serving as an officer or director of a public company again, which is the most serious penalty the regulator can seek. (Criminal charges, if any, would be brought by the Department of Justice in a separate case.)
The S.E.C. says Mr. Musk had not had specific conversations about financing when he made that announcement, and so his tweet amounted to a false public statement with the potential to harm investors.
It is seeking to prevent Mr. Musk from ever serving as an officer or director of a public company again, which is the most serious penalty the regulator can seek. (Criminal charges, if any, would be brought by the Department of Justice in a separate case.)
"They can seriously fine you, but the ultimate is to ban you from ever serving again," said Charles M. Elson, a professor and director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. "It's not just retrospective, it's prospective."
Mr. Musk isn't the only executive to face this kind of punishment, but he certainly may be the highest profile. Here are some others who have been hit with this penalty, and why:
Mr. Musk isn't the only executive to face this kind of punishment, but he certainly may be the highest profile. Here are some others who have been hit with this penalty, and why:
The S.E.C. sought financial penalties, the return of ill-gotten gains, an injunction from future violations of federal securities laws and a permanent bar from being a director or an officer at a publicly held company.
The civil claims brought in 2004 were stayed as criminal proceedings were concluded. In 2015, the S.E.C. obtained a summary judgment, barring Mr. Skilling from ever serving as an officer or director at a publicly held company.
It sought a similar punishment for Kenneth L. Lay, the former chairman and chief executive of Enron. Mr. Lay died in 2006 while waiting for his criminal sentence, and a judge voided his conviction because he could not appeal his guilty verdict.
Amie Tsang is a general assignment business reporter based in London. Before coming to The Times in 2015, she worked for The Financial Times in Hong Kong and London.
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