Justin C. Jeffries Named Associate Regional Director for Enforcement in Atlanta Office

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Justin C. Jeffries has been named the Associate Regional Director for enforcement in the Atlanta Regional Office.  

Mr. Jeffries succeeds Aaron Lipson, who left the agency in December 2018.  In his new role, Mr. Jeffries will oversee the Atlanta office’s enforcement efforts in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama.

Mr. Jeffries has investigated or supervised a number of significant matters, including those that resulted in the SEC’s charges against:

• The former chief information officer of a U.S. business unit and a former manager charged with insider trading in advance of a company’s September 2017 announcement of a massive data breach that exposed personal information of approximately 148 million U.S. customers
• A Raleigh, North Carolina-based investment adviser for running a Ponzi scheme that primarily targeted his clients, many of whom were retired and elderly
• A Georgia judicial candidate who defrauded investors through a prime bank scheme and used the funds for his judicial campaign

“Justin is a talented lawyer who has made tremendous contributions to the SEC’s Atlanta office,” said Stephanie Avakian, Co-Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

“Justin is tenacious and skilled at developing cases,” said Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.  “I am excited to have him join the ranks of the Enforcement Division’s senior leaders.”

Richard R. Best, Director of the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office, added “Justin is widely respected throughout the Atlanta Regional Office for his fairness, excellent judgment, and strong leadership.  I am delighted that he will bring his impressive skills to managing our office’s outstanding enforcement group.”

Mr. Jeffries said, “I am honored to have this opportunity.  Over the years, I have worked closely with the Atlanta office’s dedicated enforcement staff and I am looking forward to our continued collaborative efforts in protecting investors and maintaining the integrity of the securities markets.”

Mr. Jeffries joined the SEC’s Division of Enforcement as a staff attorney in 2010 and was promoted to Assistant Regional Director in 2017.  He also served as a counsel to the Division Director.  Before joining the SEC staff, Mr. Jeffries worked as a senior associate in King & Spalding LLP’s business litigation practice group in Atlanta, and as an associate in Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP’s labor and employment practice group in Washington, D.C.  He also served as a law clerk to the Honorable William S. Duffey, Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.  Mr. Jeffries received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2002 and his bachelor’s degree from Duke University in 1997.