SEC Announces Departure of Senior Enforcement Official David P. Bergers After 13 Years of Federal Service

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that David P. Bergers, Acting Deputy Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division and Director of the Boston Regional Office, will be leaving the agency this spring after 13 years of federal service.

“David has been a tremendous asset to the agency, both as the head of the Boston Regional Office and as Acting Deputy Director,” said Mary Jo White, Chair of the SEC. “Not only does he have a deep understanding of the laws we enforce, but he also has a deep appreciation for the mission of the SEC. Additionally, David is highly regarded for his ability to cultivate strong collaborative relationships within the agency as well as with criminal law enforcement colleagues, state regulators, and self-regulatory organizations across the country.”

George S. Canellos, Co-Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said, “David is a uniquely talented attorney who combines intelligence and experience with a genuine passion for innovation and a true concern for supporting the efforts of SEC staff around the country. His willingness to roll up his sleeves and tackle any issue made him an ideal Acting Deputy Director and I’m honored to have served with him.”

Mr. Bergers said, “I have been incredibly fortunate to serve alongside the agency’s talented and dedicated staff working hard every day to protect investors.”

Appointed as Acting Deputy Director of Enforcement in January, Mr. Bergers has helped set enforcement priorities and supervise the civil law enforcement efforts of more than 1,200 SEC staff in 12 offices across the country. He helped oversee all investigative and litigation activities within the Enforcement Division, including the Office of Market Intelligence, Office of the Whistleblower, and five specialized units — Asset Management, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Market Abuse, Municipal Securities and Public Pension Funds, and Structured and New Products.

As Director of the Boston Regional Office, Mr. Bergers has been overseeing the SEC’s enforcement and examination programs in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and Rhode Island. The Boston office oversees more than 1,100 investment advisers, 60 mutual fund complexes, and 375 broker-dealers, including more than 200 investment advisers who recently registered with the SEC following the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Mr. Bergers served at the SEC from 1998 to 2000 and returned in 2001, ascending through various enforcement positions until becoming head of SEC enforcement in Boston. He was appointed Regional Director of the Boston office in 2006. Mr. Bergers has led hundreds of SEC investigations into investment and financial fraud, insider trading, and other securities law violations. During the past four years, he played leadership roles in the reorganization of the Division of Enforcement and the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), and also helped write the rules for the SEC’s new national whistleblower program. Since 2010, Mr. Bergers has served on OCIE’s Executive Committee, which is responsible for setting policy and direction for the national examination program.

Mr. Bergers, 45, received the SEC’s Stanley Sporkin Award in 2010, the Law and Policy Award in 2011, and the SEC-NTEU Labor-Management Relations Award in 2011 and 2012. He received a Lawyer of the Year Award from Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly in 2006.

Mr. Bergers previously practiced at law firms in Philadelphia and Boston, and served as a vice president and assistant general counsel of a regional broker-dealer and primary counsel to an affiliated investment adviser. Mr. Bergers obtained his bachelor’s degree in 1989 from Eastern Nazarene College, and earned his law degree in 1992 at Yale Law School.

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Following the departure of Mr. Bergers, John T. Dugan will become the Acting Director of the Boston Regional Office. Mr. Dugan has served at the SEC since 1999, and was appointed Associate Regional Director for Enforcement in Boston in 2006.