Fraud

=====Anti-fraud provisioning=====

Beyond legislation directed at preventing or punishing fraud, some governmental and non-governmental organizations engage in anti-fraud efforts.

Between 1911 and 1933, 47 states adopted the so-called [[Blue sky law|Blue Sky Laws]] status.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Speech by SEC Staff: remarks at the F. Hodge O'Neal Corporate and securities Law symposium |url=https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/spch022103smc.htm |website=sec.gov |date=21 February 2003 |access-date=28 August 2017 |archive-date=8 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708091409/https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/spch022103smc.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
These laws were enacted and enforced at the state level and regulated the offering and sale of [[security (finance)|securities]] to protect the public from fraud. Though the specific provisions of these laws varied among states, they all required the registration of all securities offerings and sales, as well as of every U.S. [[stockbroker]] and brokerage firm.<ref name="bluesky">{{cite web |url=http://www.seclaw.com/bluesky.htm |title=Blue Sky Laws |publisher=Seclaw.com |date=7 July 2007 |access-date=5 December 2013 |archive-date=9 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209204422/http://www.seclaw.com/bluesky.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> However, these Blue Sky laws were generally found to be ineffective.

To increase public trust in the capital markets the [[President of the United States]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], established the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] (SEC).<ref>{{cite web|title=Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945)|url=http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/mep/displaydoc.cfm?docid=erpn-fdr|website=gwu.edu|access-date=8 November 2023|archive-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514045636/https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/mep/displaydoc.cfm?docid=erpn-fdr|url-status=live}}</ref> The main reason for the creation of the SEC was to regulate the [[stock market]] and prevent [[corporate abuses]] relating to the offering and sale of securities and corporate reporting. The SEC was given the power to license and regulate stock exchanges, the companies whose securities traded on them, and the brokers and dealers who conducted the trading.<ref>{{cite web|title=Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC")|url=http://learn.advfn.com/index.php?title=Stock_Market_Regulation|website=learn.advfn.com|access-date=8 November 2023|archive-date=4 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604013057/https://learn.advfn.com/index.php?title=Stock_Market_Regulation|url-status=live}}</ref>