The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has named its former associate director of enforcement, David Peavler, as the agency’s new regional director for its Fort Worth Regional Office.
The SEC’s decision surprised many in the white-collar criminal defense community who did not know that Peavler was even interested in the position.
Peavler, who initially joined the SEC in 2000, left the regulatory authority in 2017 to become the general counsel of Irving-based HD Vest Financial, a broker-dealer firm that specializes in turning tax accountants into financial advisors.
The position of director of the Fort Worth Regional Office, which provides SEC oversight in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas, has been vacant since Shamoil Shipchandler departed in January.
“I am happy to welcome David back to the SEC to lead the Fort Worth Regional Office,” SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said in a press release issued Thursday afternoon. “David’s prior leadership roles at the SEC combined with his experience in retail investor financial services will be invaluable in furthering the Fort Worth office’s investor protection efforts.”
The SEC’s announcement of Peavler comes 48 hours after it named Marshall Gandy, associate regional director for examinations for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Fort Worth, to be the co-national associate director of the agency’s Investment Advisor/Investment Company Program. Gandy was widely viewed as another finalist for the regional director’s position.
Legal experts say that the biggest issue Peavler faces at the SEC will be understaffing at the Fort Worth operation. More than a dozen senior level enforcement lawyers have departed the agency’s office here during the past 18 months and office leaders have been prevented from hiring replacements.
The Texas Lawbook will publish an exclusive interview with David Peavler on Friday.
Peavler, who received a degree in accounting at Baylor University and his law degree at the University of Texas, led several high-profile investigations and prosecutions, including the Seaboard Corporation case, where the SEC first established its corporate cooperation guidance. Other major cases led by Peavler included:
· The SEC’s enforcement action against Royal Dutch Shell, which resulted in Shell paying a $120 million penalty for overstating its reserves by 4.5 billion barrels;
· The SEC’s prosecution of Millennium Bank for its involvement in a $100 million international Ponzi scheme case; and
· The $46.8 million judgment against Life Partners for securities violations over information company leaders should have disclosed to investors.
Peavler also led the 2015 investigation and enforcement action against Houston-based KBR in what was the first case against a U.S. company for violating provisions of the whistleblower protection clauses in the Dodd-Frank Act.
The SEC’s hiring of Peavler is receiving positive reviews from prominent lawyers in the Texas white-collar legal community.
“This is an outstanding hire for the SEC,” former SEC regional director David Woodcock told The Texas Lawbook. “David has the right experience and temperament to lead the office. And with Marshall Gandy’s recent promotion to the co-director of national IA/IC program, the FWRO is in a great spot right now.”
“The SEC couldn’t have picked a better leader for the Fort Worth Regional Office,” said Winstead shareholder Toby Galloway, who was the SEC’s lead trial lawyer for several years. “David is an excellent lawyer who started as a front-line staff attorney for the SEC and was repeatedly promoted until he was supervising investigations at the highest level.
“During his time away from the Commission, he practiced as a securities litigator, and he has in-house securities experience,” Galloway said. “I cannot imagine anyone having a more well-rounded résumé for the job. This is a truly great selection.”