The SEC issues billions in fines each year, but much of it will never be collected. In fact, over the past decade, they've had to write off nearly $10B in uncollected penalties.

Here's an incredible example:

Paul Bilzerian has been dodging a $62M judgment for 31 years by...

• Pleading poverty

• Declaring bankruptcy (twice)

• Moving to St. Kitts and Nevis

His unpaid fines are now at $180M! 💸

The SEC typically writes off penalties and other amounts owed that go unpaid for just two years.

In FY2023, while the SEC announced $4.9B in financial sanctions, they had to write off $1.9B in old uncollected penalties. That's not exactly a great success rate.

In FY 2024, the SEC issued $8.2B in fines. A huge chunk ($4.47B) came from one case, Terraform Labs, which will probably go unpaid due to bankruptcy.

The current system seems built for headlines, not results.

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/sec-fines-penalties-collection-write-off-071cb768