WASHINGTON — Three significant federal investigations into alleged financial misconduct were closed without charges or public explanation during the final weeks of the last fiscal quarter, according to documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests reviewed by The Freethinking Times.

The investigations, which had been active for between fourteen and thirty-one months, involved two major financial institutions and one publicly traded technology company. The agency declined to comment on any of the cases, citing standard policy of neither confirming nor denying the existence of specific investigations — a position that critics argue functions as a permanent shield against public scrutiny.

“The pattern here is not subtle,” said one former enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he still consults with firms under federal oversight. “You don’t run an investigation for two and a half years and then close it quietly unless someone made a decision that had nothing to do with the evidence.”

What the Documents Show

The FOIA response, which took eleven months to fulfill and arrived heavily redacted, nonetheless reveals the dates on which the investigations were formally closed, the approximate number of personnel-hours logged, and — in one case — a single-line entry reading “matter resolved, no further action warranted.” No resolution agreement, consent order, or formal declination memo was attached.

Legal experts contacted for this article said that phrasing is unusual. A formal declination typically includes a written statement of reasons, even in heavily redacted form. Its absence suggests either that no such document was created, or that it was withheld in its entirety.

The agency’s budget justification submitted to Congress the same week included language touting “a record number of enforcement resolutions” in the fiscal year — a figure that, read alongside the investigation closures, raises questions about how the agency is counting its outcomes.

A Pattern Worth Watching

This is not the first time the agency has faced questions about the gap between its public enforcement narrative and its actual case outcomes. A 2023 audit by the Government Accountability Office found that the agency’s reported “enforcement actions” included a significant number of cases that resulted in no monetary penalty and no admission of wrongdoing.

The Freethinking Times will continue to pursue this story. Readers with relevant documents or direct knowledge of these cases are encouraged to contact the newsroom.

This article is based on documents obtained through FOIA requests filed in April 2025. The documents are available in full on our document archive page.