The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the closure of its Salt Lake Regional Office, following a federal judge’s order to pay approximately $1.8 million in attorney and receivership fees.
This move comes following the dismissal of the SEC’s civil lawsuit against Digital Licensing, the firm behind DEBT Box, and ensuing sanctions against the regulator for “bad faith conduct” during the case.
Noting “significant attrition” at the Salt Lake City office, the SEC said in a recent notice dated June 4th that it was closing shop with a plan to shift operations to Denver. Shortly afterward the announcement, Judge Robert Shelby asked the SEC to pay approximately $1m in attorney fees and costs, as well as receiver fees which amounted to around $750k as per his order.
The SEC originally filed a lawsuit against DEBT Box in July 2023 claiming that the company was involved in an illegal crypto scheme worth about $50 million. However, in March, Judge Shelby accused the SEC of violating the code of conduct after temporarily blocking DEBT Box from transferring any funds, thereby prompting regulatory sanctions.
Reports say that two SEC lawyers from the Salt Lake Regional Office had to resign due to their ill handling of the case, which may have played a role in the “significant attrition” in the office.
DEBT Box’s chief marketing officer, Miguel Francis-Santiago, said that the SEC’s decision to shut down the office was a direct response to the “gross misuse of power” in the dismissed case.
However, this report comes as the SEC pursues enforcement actions against Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, and Ripple among other prominent crypto firms. Another development is that Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon have confirmed through their attorneys that they have reached a deal in principle with SEC for resolution. The settlement terms are not known yet, but it has stirred conversations on what lies ahead regarding enforcement regulation within the crypto space.
