Episode
Oral Argument: Sripetch v. SEC
- Podcast
- The High Court Report
- Published
- Apr 19, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4334
- Processing state
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- https://thehighcourtreport.com//oral-argument-sripetch-v-sec
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Summary
Sripetch v. Securities and Exchange Commission | Case No. 25-466 | Docket Link: Here Oral Advocates: Petitioners (Sripetch): Daniel L. Geyser of Haynes and Boone LLP Respondents (SEC): Malcolm L. Stewart of the Department of Justice Question Presented: Whether the SEC may seek disgorgement without proving investors suffered pecuniary harm. Overview: Federal securities enforcement showdown asks whether the SEC must prove actual investor money losses before courts order fraudsters to surrender profits — reshaping a $6.1 billion annual enforcement tool. Posture: Ninth Circuit affirmed disgorgement without pecuniary harm; Second Circuit requires it; Supreme Court granted cert January 9, 2026. Main Arguments: Sripetch (Petitioner): (1) Disgorgement without pecuniary harm functions as an unlawful penalty, not equitable relief; (2) Congress's 2021 amendments ratified Liu 's definition of disgorgement, which requires restoring funds to actual victims; (3) Allowing victimless disgorgement creates incoherent statutory anomalies and lets the SEC circumvent procedural safeguards attached to civil penalties. SEC (Respondent): (1) Disgorgement strips wrongdoers of ill-gotten gains rather than compensating victims — no loss showing required; (2) Congress deliberately omitted the "for the benefit of investors" language from the 2021 disgorgement provisions, signaling no pecuniary-harm prerequisite; (3) The statutory phrase "unjust enrichment" carries a common-law meaning that never required monetary loss. Implications: Sripetch victory forces the SEC to document specific investor money losses before courts order disgorgement — shrinking the SEC's multibillion-dollar enforcement arsenal and potentially shielding cleverly structured fraud schemes from profit-stripping orders. SEC victor…