SEC Salt Lake Workplace Shut Down: Coinbase Lawyer Slams “Attrition” Declare

• The SEC pronounces the closure of its Salt Lake Regional Workplace (SLRO), citing a big attrition.
• The transfer follows the SEC’s failure within the Debt Field case, the place the decide accused the company of dangerous religion conduct.
• Paul Grewal criticizes the usage of the time period attrition, asking whether or not it refers back to the decide’s unprecedented sanctions.

The U.S. Securities and Change Fee (SEC) has introduced the closure of its Salt Lake Regional Workplace (SLRO), citing “important attrition.” This resolution follows a courtroom ruling in opposition to the SEC within the Debt Field lawsuit, and Coinbase lawyer Paul Grewal criticized the SEC’s use of the time period “attrition.”

The SEC lately confronted a setback within the Debt Field case when District Court docket Choose Robert J. Shelby condemned the company for his or her “dangerous religion conduct.” The SEC beforehand accused Debt Field of a $50 million fraud scheme. Nonetheless, the decide dismissed the case, ordering the SEC to pay $1.75 million to cowl authorized charges and different bills.

In its latest press launch, the SEC disclosed its resolution to close down SLRO, decreasing the regulator’s regional places of work from 11 to 10. The company acknowledged that SLRO had been the SEC’s smallest regional workplace. The SEC elaborated:

“The company thought of its funds and organizational effectivity in deciding to shut the workplace, and it has no plans to shut every other regional places of work. All present workers can be aligned to current SEC organizational elements primarily based on their present capabilities and company mission wants.”

Commenting on the SEC’s resolution and the phrase “attrition” talked about within the press launch, Coinbase Chief Authorized Officer Grewal rebuked, “Attrition—is that what we’re calling unprecedented misrepresentations and dangerous religion warranting unprecedented sanctions by a federal decide?.” Additional, reflecting on the SEC’s anti-crypto stance and crypto lawsuits, Grewal remarked, “All that speak of ‘cops’ and ‘Wild West’ from a civil company with zero felony jurisdiction.”