The penalty was one of the largest imposed on a brokerage firm, in an investigation that has collected nearly $4 billion in fines and restitution. In settling with Bear Stearns, officials with the Securities and Exchange Commission painted an ugly portrait of the firm's clearing division, calling it a full-service facilitator and "hub" for abusive traders. Regulators charged that Bear Stearns' mutual fund trading hub generated "hundreds of millions of dollars in profits" for itself and its hedge fund clients. A number of current and former top executives in Bear Stearns' clearing operation are still facing possible regulatory action for giving the green light to the abusive hedge fund trading, which regulators contend hurt long-term mutual fund investors. People familiar with the investigation say regulators didn't push Bear Stearns into the outsourcing arrangement.