On November 15, 2012 the SEC filed a complaint against the company. According to the complaint "In three public filings furnished to the Commission and made available to investors, BP misled investors by misrepresenting and omitting material information known to BP regarding the rate at which oil was flowing into the Gulf and, thus, the resulting liability for the oil spill" after "an explosion occurred on the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon...leased by a subsidiary of BP p.l.c."

On November 15, 2012, the SEC announced that it filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana charging BP p.l.c. ("BP") with misleading investors while its Deepwater Horizon oil rig was gushing into the Gulf of Mexico by significantly understating the flow rate in multiple reports filed with the SEC. Further, BP executives made numerous public statements after the filings were made in which they stood behind the underestimated flow rate, even though they had internal data indicating otherwise. Months later, a government task force determined the flow rate estimate was actually more than 10 times higher than that reported by BP, yet BP never corrected or updated the misrepresentations and omissions it made in SEC filings for investors. In order to settle the SEC's charges, BP consented to the entry of a final judgment ordering it to pay a $525 million penalty and permanently restraining and enjoining the company from violating Sections 10(b) and 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5, 12b-20 and 13a-16 thereunder. The proposed final judgment is subject to court approval. If approved, the SEC plans to establish a Fair Fund with the BP penalty to provide harmed investors with compensation for losses they sustained in the fraud.

On December 10, 2012, Federal District Judge Carl Barbier entered final judgment against BP p.l.c. pursuant to the consent of BP p.l.c.

On February 12, 2014, the SEC's consent motion to establish a fair fund and appoint a distribution agent was granted in the matter SEC v. BP p.l.c.

On February 3, 2016, the Court approved the SEC's proposed distribution plan.

n August 14, 2018, the Court granted the SEC's motion for an order to transfer funds for distribution.

On May 1, 2020, the Court granted the SEC's motion for an order to transfer funds for distribution.

On July 26, 2023, the Court ordered the SEC's motion for an order approving a distribution plan for the BP Fair Fund and Including Post-Judgment Interest in the Fair Fund, along with the Distribution Plan itself.