The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, of committing fraud when he said on Twitter: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.”



The S.E.C. says Mr. Musk had not had specific conversations about financing when he made that announcement, and so his tweet amounted to a false public statement with the potential to harm investors.



It is seeking to prevent Mr. Musk from ever serving as an officer or director of a public company again, which is the most serious penalty the regulator can seek. (Criminal charges, if any, would be brought by the Department of Justice in a separate case.)

“They can seriously fine you, but the ultimate is to ban you from ever serving again,” said Charles M. Elson, a professor and director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. “It’s not just retrospective, it’s prospective.”



Mr. Musk isn’t the only executive to face this kind of punishment, but he certainly may be the highest profile. Here are some others who have been hit with this penalty, and why:

10 Years

Elizabeth Holmes

Fraud

In March Ms. Holmes, the founder and chief executive of Theranos, and Ramesh Balwani, the former president of the company, were charged with raising more than $700 million from investors through “an elaborate, yearslong fraud in which they exaggerated or made false statements about the company’s technology, business and financial performance.”

Ms. Holmes agreed to settle the fraud charges, paying a $500,000 penalty, returning her remaining shares and relinquishing voting control over Theranos. She was barred from serving as an officer or director at a public company for 10 years.

That’s not the end of the legal issues. Mr. Balwani has decided to fight the charges, and they both face criminal charges.