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Anonymous ID: 5c12b9 Dec. 31, 2020, 7:21 a.m. No.12251939   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1992

Farewell Statement of Stephanie Avakian, Director of the Division of Enforcement

Stephanie Avakian

Stephanie Avakian

Director, Division of Enforcement

Dec. 30, 2020

 

On my departure as Director, I would like to publicly recognize the staff of the Enforcement Division - both current and former - for their tremendous contributions on behalf of investors. In that regard, below is a letter I sent to the staff last week.[1]

 

Dear All,

 

It is difficult to leave this job without the opportunity to speak in person to those who made it so special. Given the circumstances, and my desire to connect with as many of you as possible, I am sharing some thoughts with you here. And, in order to also connect with our former colleagues who contributed to the Division’s successes but are no longer at the Commission – as well as to share your many accomplishments more broadly – I plan to post this on the SEC website in the coming days.

 

It has been four years – almost to the day – since I became Acting Director of this Division. As I have already said before to many of you, this has been the job of a lifetime. That is because of you.

 

Over the past four years, we ran an aggressive enforcement program without fear or favor. We zealously pursued wrongdoers, protected retail investors, and preserved the integrity of our markets. We investigated and recommended cases the Commission brought against some of the world’s largest and most recognized companies, financial institutions, and asset managers, as well as current and former C-suite executives, politicians, and celebrities. And at the same time, we stopped Ponzi and other schemes – large and small – orchestrated against ordinary investors by individuals who are unknown to most of the world. We defied the false narrative that we face a binary choice between protecting Main Street and policing Wall Street. I could not possibly capture all of your accomplishments in this note, though I have tried to summarize them in a separate document, attached here.

 

This job is so much more than the individual cases. But, of course, I take great pride in the cases. Every case is important though some stand out. A few are the SEC’s actions against: Tesla and Elon Musk; Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes; General Electric; Facebook; Telegram and Kik; the EDGAR hackers; Wells Fargo; Robinhood; former Congressman Christopher Collins; Goldman Sachs; Lek Securities and Avalon Trading; and the Woodbridge Group and its founder Robert Shapiro.

https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/farewell-statement-stephanie-avakian-director-division-enforcement