SEC lawyers quit amid another legal blow for agency: report

April 22, 2024 01:00 PM PDT | By Invezz

Judge sanctions SEC for “gross abuse” of power

The lawyers’ resignations come after federal Judge Robert Shelby ruled that the SEC’s case against Digital Licensing Inc., or Debt Box, was replete with “false statements and misrepresentations.”

Specifically, the report highlights recent events where a Utah judge sanctioned the SEC, sharply reprimanding it for “gross abuse” of power.” The two lawyers are said to be Michael Welsh and Joseph Watkins.

According to the Bloomberg report, the under-fire SEC, which has in the last few months suffered significant legal blows, allegedly planned on firing the two lawyers. Welsh and Watkins are reported to have stepped aside earlier this month.

In its lawsuit against Debt Box, the SEC has alleged the platform defrauded investors of $49 million.

The case saw the crypto company’s assets frozen before a court’s decision reversed the action. The SEC acknowledged “errors” in its lawsuit agaist Debt Box in December and has also sought to dismiss the case.

Last year, a judge sharply criticised the SEC’s approach in the rejection of Grayscale’s application to convert its GBTC to a spot Bitcoin ETF. The outcome of the case helped accelerate the eventual approval of several spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US. It includes the high-flying BlackRock’s IBIT.

SEC also lost against Ripple when a US judge declared XRP was not a security. These losses came as the broader crypto industry believes the agency’s regulation by enforcement actions is dragging the US behind other top tier jurisdictions.

Current cases before the courts and involving the SEC vs. crypto companies includes that of Terraform Labs, Coinbase and Binance among others.

The post SEC lawyers quit amid another legal blow for agency: report appeared first on Invezz

Disclaimer

The content, including but not limited to any articles, news, quotes, information, data, text, reports, ratings, opinions, images, photos, graphics, graphs, charts, animations, and video (Content) is a service of Kalkine Media LLC., having Delaware File No. 4697309 (“Kalkine Media, we or us”) and is available for personal and non-commercial use only. The principal purpose of the Content is to educate and inform. The Content does not contain or imply any recommendation or opinion intended to influence your financial decisions and must not be relied upon by you as such. Some of the Content on this website may be sponsored/non-sponsored, as applicable, but is NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold the stocks of the company(s) or engage in any investment activity under discussion. Kalkine Media is neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice through this platform. Users should make their own enquiries about any investments and Kalkine Media strongly suggests the users to seek advice from a financial adviser, stockbroker or other professional (including taxation and legal advice), as necessary. Kalkine Media hereby disclaims any and all the liabilities to any user for any direct, indirect, implied, punitive, special, incidental or other consequential damages arising from any use of the Content on this website, which is provided without warranties. The views expressed in the Content by the guests, if any, are their own and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Kalkine Media.
The content published on Kalkine Media also includes feeds sourced from third-party providers. Kalkine does not assert any ownership rights over the content provided by these third-party sources. The inclusion of such feeds on the Website is for informational purposes only. Kalkine does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the content obtained from third-party feeds. Furthermore, Kalkine Media shall not be held liable for any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in the content obtained from third-party feeds, nor for any damages or losses arising from the use of such content. Some of the images/music that may be used on this website are copyrighted to their respective owner(s). Kalkine Media does not claim ownership of any of the pictures/music displayed/used on this website unless stated otherwise. The images/music that may be used on this website are taken from various sources on the internet, including paid subscriptions or are believed to be in public domain. We have used reasonable efforts to accredit the source (public domain/CC0 status) to where it was found and indicated it, as necessary.
This disclaimer is subject to change without notice. Users are advised to review this disclaimer periodically for any updates or modifications.