Jason J. Burt Named Associate Regional Director for Enforcement in SEC's Denver Office

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Jason J. Burt has been named the Associate Regional Director for enforcement in the SEC's Denver Regional Office. Mr. Burt succeeds Kurt Gottschall, who became Regional Director of the SEC's Denver office in November 2018.

Mr. Burt joined the SEC's Division of Enforcement as a staff attorney in 2007. After the division was reorganized in 2010, he served as a member the division's Market Abuse Unit until he was promoted to Assistant Regional Director in the SEC's Asset Management Unit in 2016. Since August 2018, he also has served as an Assistant Regional Director in the SEC's Market Abuse Unit.

Mr. Burt helped develop and lead the SEC's Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSDI), a self-reporting initiative designed to return money quickly to investors harmed by inadequate fee disclosures. The SEC recently announced the first set of actions brought under the initiative against 79 firms, resulting in over $125 million being returned to harmed investors.

In addition to helping to develop and lead the SCSDI, Mr. Burt has investigated or supervised a number of significant matters, including cases involving:

• Nine defendants charged with participating in a scheme to hack into the SEC's EDGAR system and extract nonpublic information to use for illegal trading
• Investment advisers charged with breaching fiduciary duties to clients, requiring them to repay over $12 million in improper fees to harmed clients
• Violations of the federal securities laws in connection with the operation of alternative trading systems
• Dozens of defendants charged with taking part in an international scheme to profit from stolen nonpublic information about corporate earnings announcements
• A Brooklyn man, a stockbroker, and a managing clerk at a law firm charged with participating in a $5.6 insider trading scheme that involved the passing of illegal tips via napkins or post-it notes at Grand Central Terminal

"Jason is known for being tenacious and having an unwavering commitment to the SEC's mission," said Stephanie Avakian, Co-Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement.

"Jason is highly respected by his peers for his insight and intelligence and will be a fantastic addition to our senior leadership team in Denver," said Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement.

Kurt Gottschall, Director of the SEC's Denver Regional Office, added, "Throughout his long career with the SEC, Jason has earned the respect of his colleagues by working hard, sharing his deep knowledge of the federal securities laws, and developing programmatically important enforcement cases. We are excited to have Jason lead Denver's talented enforcement staff."

Mr. Burt said, "I am honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to lead such an amazing group of people. I look forward to continuing the Denver enforcement program's unwavering pursuit of wrongdoers who prey on retail investors."

Mr. Burt joined the SEC in 2004 as an attorney in the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations' Broker-Dealer group. Before joining the SEC staff, Mr. Burt worked as a litigation associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.  He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration with high honors from James Madison University, and his law degree with honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Mr. Burt also presently serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law.

Mr. Burt received the SEC Chairman's Award for Excellence in 2010 for his work related to the Flash Crash and the SEC's Analytical Methods award in 2016 for his work on the hacked news releases matter.