Courts hearing the most manipulation actions
Market manipulation actions concentrate in a small number of federal district courts, principally those covering the major financial centres and the exchanges themselves. This reflects where defendants and venues are located, not any difference in how the courts approach these cases.
What this does not measure. Courts are extracted from the text of each release, and many actions — particularly administrative proceedings and settled matters — do not name one at all. Those are excluded entirely, so this covers only the subset where a court was stated. Differences in median penalty between courts reflect the mix of cases filed there, not judicial behaviour.
| Court | Actions | Median penalty | Largest penalty | Criminal parallel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York | 186 | $1m | $35m | 42% |
| U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York | 75 | $350k | $1.5m | 61% |
| Capital Markets Tribunal (Ontario) | 69 | — | — | 12% |
| SEC administrative law judge | 66 | $150k | $5m | 39% |
| U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts | 58 | $160k | $1.5m | 57% |
| U.S. District Court, Central District of California | 50 | $181k | $1m | 18% |
| U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida | 48 | $1.3m | $11.7m | 27% |
| U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey | 43 | $174k | $2.5m | 58% |
| U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois | 41 | $525k | $147m | 41% |
| U.S. District Court, Northern District of California | 28 | $23.8k | $100k | 39% |
| U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida | 20 | $3.8m | $7.5m | 30% |
| U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas | 20 | $2m | $5.9bn | 15% |
| U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas | 19 | $1.6m | $14m | 47% |
| U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut | 18 | $530k | $1m | 50% |
| U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia | 16 | $1.5m | $1.5m | 19% |
| U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina | 16 | $1m | $5.8m | 63% |
| U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas | 14 | $333k | $18.8m | 29% |
| U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania | 14 | $3m | $5.7m | 50% |
| U.S. District Court, District of Nevada | 12 | $750k | $32m | 25% |
| U.S. District Court, District of Columbia | 12 | $250k | $575k | 8% |
| U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia | 11 | $2.5m | $5m | 82% |
| U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan | 11 | $5.9m | $27m | 55% |
| U.S. District Court, District of Colorado | 10 | $450k | $2m | 20% |
| U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington | 10 | $1.3m | $1.3m | 60% |
| U.S. District Court, Southern District of California | 10 | $618k | $875k | 40% |
| U.S. District Court, District of Utah | 6 | $16.3m | $32.4m | 83% |
| U.S. District Court, District of Arizona | 6 | $753k | $1.5m | 17% |
| U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota | 6 | — | — | 33% |
| U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California | 5 | $4.5m | $4.5m | 20% |
| U.S. District Court, District of Oregon | 5 | $413k | $625k | 0% |