SEC Appoints New Jersey Attorney General as Director of Enforcement

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed New Jersey’s Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal as director of the Enforcement Division.

The appointment goes into effect July 26, with the SEC adding the veteran attorney to its ranks to play a key role in regulating US financial markets.

“He has the ideal combination of experience, values ​​and leadership skills to lead the Enforcement Division at this critical time. I look forward to working closely with him to protect investors and detect misconduct in our markets, ”said SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.

Grewal was to replace Alex Oh, who was appointed by Gensler but had to resign in April after only a few days in office.

Oh’s appointment has sparked a backlash against her work in defense of corporations as a lawyer, particularly her representation in ExxonMobil, a case accusing defendants of human rights abuses in Indonesia.

Grewal is an Indian-American who grew up in New Jersey. The 48-year-old has served at state and federal levels, including the white-collar crime division where he led the prosecution of the accomplices behind a $ 300 million global hacking and data breach conspiracy.

Grewal was also previously assigned to the Securities and Business Fraud Department, where he served as the US Assistant Attorney in the Criminal Division of the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York.

He doesn’t appear to have any known crypto cases, but has experience tracking Ponzi schemes and securities fraud.

One notable case that Grewal handled in New Jersey was the case against Eliyahu Weinstein, who was guilty of running a real estate Ponzi program that defrauded investors out of $ 200 million.

Weinstein was sentenced to 22 years in prison and later admitted to another fraudulent conspiracy surrounding Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO) in 2012.

Connected: Rapper The Game, along with enforcers, faces a $ 12 million prison sentence in the ICO case

The SEC has recently stepped up its pursuit of initial coin offerings, which it considers securities. Cointelegraph reported on the ongoing lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple Labs on June 25, revealing that the regulator recently stated that XRP token holders are using social media to “post negative and misleading statements about members of the SEC leadership” .

The lawsuit was originally filed by the SEC in December accusing the company of making unregistered securities offers. The two sides were embroiled in a tense battle throughout 2021.