SEC Goes After A Town For Fraud

In a first, the Securities and Exchange Commission has gone after a city. The SEC charged Harrisburg, Pa., with securities fraud. Without admitting the charges, the city agreed to settle, and the SEC levied no fines. According to the SEC order, Harrisburg misled buyers of municipal bonds about how bad its fiscal condition was. Harrisburg, the state capital, missed $14 million in interest payments to bond holders. The SEC says the city is nearly bankrupt. Harrisburg is operating under state receivership. The SEC has put all public officials on notice about misleading information in bond sales.