Litigation Releases (Oppenheimer & Co., Inc.)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26435 / December 12, 2025

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., No. 22-cv-07801 (S.D.N.Y. filed Sept. 13, 2022)

SEC Obtains Final Consent Judgment as to Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Regarding Alleged Failure to Comply with Municipal Bond Offering Disclosure Requirements

On December 10, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final consent judgment in the SEC's civil enforcement action against New York-based Oppenheimer & Co. Inc..

According to the SEC's complaint, from June 2017 to April 2022, Oppenheimer sold the relevant municipal bonds in purported reliance on the "limited offering exemption," which, upon satisfying specific requirements, exempts certain municipal securities offerings from the general requirement of providing disclosures to investors. The complaint alleged that Oppenheimer sold securities in hundreds of municipal offerings in purported reliance on the limited offering exemption when it had not satisfied the exemption requirements. The complaint also alleged that Oppenheimer made deceptive statements to issuers by representing that it would and did comply with the exemption requirements, and that Oppenheimer lacked policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that it complied with the limited offering exemption when acting as underwriter in these municipal bond offerings.

Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, Oppenheimer consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining it from violating Rule 15c2-12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) Rules G-17 and G-27, and Exchange Act Section 15B(c)1. The final consent judgment also orders Oppenheimer to pay a $1.2 million civil penalty.

The investigation was conducted by Laura Cunningham and supervised by Ivonia Slade and Rebecca Olsen. The litigation was led by Devon Staren and supervised by David Nasse. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the MSRB.