SEC v. Lawrence D. Polizzotto (2013)

Settled

Checked against the primary document on October 2, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.

Report an error in this record (sec-lawrence-d-polizzotto-2013) by email

In September 2013 the SEC settled with Lawrence Polizzotto, former head of investor relations at First Solar, for selectively disclosing to analysts and investors that the company would not receive an expected Department of Energy loan guarantee. He paid a $50,000 penalty. The violation is of Regulation FD, not insider trading.

The record

Structured fields for this action, as recorded in our case library.
Agency	SEC
Release number	34-70337
Date filed	2013-09-06
Date resolved	2013-09-06
Status	settled
Asset class	equities
Venue	Nasdaq
Criminal parallel	No
Defendants	Lawrence D. Polizzotto (individual)
Cited as charged or alleged	Exchange Act s.13(a) (statutes and rules cited in the document; not a finding that they were violated)
Techniques

What was ordered

Civil penalty: $50k
Disgorgement: —
Prejudgment interest: —
Total relief: $50k
Alleged gain: —

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the order on September 6, 2013.

The order finds that on September 21, 2011 Polizzotto told about 20 sell-side analysts and institutional investors of the lost loan guarantee, directed a subordinate to make similar calls, and the stock fell six percent when the company disclosed it publicly the next morning, causing First Solar's violation of Regulation FD.

No trading on the information is alleged, so the insider-trading tag has been removed.

For the regulator's own account of the facts, read the primary document linked above. This page deliberately summarises the structured record rather than reproducing the release.

Timeline

2013-09-06 Administrative proceeding instituted (cease-and-desist)

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

SEC order

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.