NASAA Reports 51% Increase in Enforcement Actions in 2010

NASAA reported a 51 percent increase in the number of enforcement actions by state securities regulators in 2010, which led to a nearly 200 percent increase in the amount of money ordered returned to investors.  According to the NASAA report, state securities regulators conducted 7,063 investigations in 2010, which led to 3,475 enforcement actions, up from 2,294 enforcement actions in the previous year. Enforcement actions include criminal, administrative and civil actions. Nearly 1,000 of these actions involved financial abuse of seniors.