Individuals or corporations guilty of securities fraud can be charged legally in addition to the civil lawsuits by individual investors or groups of investors. They are known as "white collar crimes" and are often very difficult to prosecute due to the complexity of the deception in the schemes.

There are two groups, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) that monitor and oversee investments and do investigate and prosecute security fraud cases.

Lawyers can be hired to act on behalf of both the individuals accused of securities fraud and those that have be defrauded. It is important to hire an attorney with trial experience in securities fraud when looking for representation in a securities action.