SEC Names Nicholas Grippo as Regional Director of Philadelphia Office

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Nicholas P. Grippo has been named Regional Director of the Philadelphia Regional Office, effective September 12, 2022. Mr. Grippo currently serves as Chief of the Criminal Division for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey (USAO) where he supervises approximately 120 prosecutors and support staff.

“Nicholas brings a wealth of experience to our Philadelphia Regional Office,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “I am pleased he has decided to join the SEC and look forward to working with him. I’d also like to thank Joy Thompson and Scott Thompson for serving as Acting Co-Directors of this office for the past six months.”

As Director of the Philadelphia Regional Office, Mr. Grippo will lead a staff of more than 150 attorneys, accountants, investigators, securities compliance examiners, and other personnel involved in the prosecution of enforcement actions and performance of compliance examinations across the mid-Atlantic.

“Nick is a dedicated public servant, a skilled lawyer, and an outstanding leader,” said Gurbir Grewal, the SEC’s Director of Enforcement. “He has a long history of working with the SEC and is both well-known and well-respected by Enforcement staff. I am delighted to welcome him to the agency, where I am sure that he and the talented staff in Philadelphia will continue their outstanding and effective efforts on behalf of investors.”

“Nick brings significant experience and a commitment to investor protection to this role,” said Richard R. Best, Director of the SEC’s Division of Examinations. "He is an accomplished leader with exceptional legal skill and I am delighted that he will join the dedicated examinations team in Philadelphia.”

Mr. Grippo said, “I am honored and privileged to join the Commission to lead the Philadelphia Regional Office. As a federal prosecutor for the last 10 years, I saw firsthand the extraordinary work that the dedicated public servants of the Enforcement and Examinations Staff do every day. I look forward to working closely with them and our law enforcement and regulatory partners to protect investors and promote public confidence in our work.

Before becoming Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division, Mr. Grippo served as the Division’s Deputy Chief from January 2020 to July 2021 and as Attorney-in-Charge of the Office’s Trenton Branch Office from December 2018 to January 2020. He joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office as an Assistant United States Attorney in 2012 and spent five years in the office’s Economic Crimes Unit, where he investigated and prosecuted securities fraud and white collar crimes, including many cases in parallel with the SEC. Among others, Mr. Grippo was the lead prosecutor on United States v. Aleksandr Milrud (the Department of Justice’s first securities fraud prosecution involving layering) and United States v. Paul Parmar, et al. ($300 million alleged securities fraud scheme involving a go-private transaction). He also worked on the Justice Department’s hacking and insider trading cases, United States v. Turchynov, et al. (hacking business newswire companies) and United States v. Radchenko, et al. (hacking SEC’s EDGAR system).

Earlier in his career, Mr. Grippo was an attorney in the Litigation Department of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP and served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Joseph L. Yannotti of the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division. Mr. Grippo earned his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and his law degree from Rutgers University School of Law.