How have courts interpreted the word "willful" in the context of securities legislation?

In attacking his conviction of the alleged violations of 15 U.S.C. 77q, appellant principally contends that the government's burden includes the obligation to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant knew that the items sold were securities within the meaning of the act. Appellant argues that the use of the word "willful" in 15 U.S.C. 77x, the penalty provision for violations of 77q, imports the requirement of specific knowledge of the identity of instruments as securities. ² We are therefore required in determining this issue to construe the word "willfully" as it appears in the context of this statute. We are mindful that "willful" and "willfully" are words of many meanings, and that their construction is often influenced by context. Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91, 101, 65 S.Ct. 1031, 1035, 89 L.Ed. 1495, 1502 (1945); Spies v. United States, 317 U.S. 492, 63 S.Ct. 364, 87 L.Ed. 418 (1943).