The SEC has announced the appointment of Kevin Muhlendorf as the agency’s new Inspector General, effective July 28. Muhlendorf leads the Securities Enforcement Practice at Wiley Rein LLP in Washington D.C. He previously served as Acting Inspector General for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and served as a Trial Attorney and Assistant Chief in the U.S. Department of Justice Fraud Section, and as Senior Counsel in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. Acting Inspector General Katherine Reilly will return to her role as a Deputy Inspector General.

As noted on the SEC’s website, the SEC’s Office of Inspector General “seeks to prevent and detect any fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement at the SEC while promoting integrity, economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in Commission programs and operations.” The OIG accomplishes this mission by:

– conducting independent and objective audits, evaluations, and other reviews of SEC programs and operations;
– conducting independent and objective investigations of potential criminal, civil, and administrative violations that undermine the ability of the SEC to accomplish its statutory mission;
– preventing and detecting fraud, waste, and abuse in SEC programs and operations;
– identifying vulnerabilities in SEC systems and operations and making recommendations to improve them;
– communicating timely and useful information that facilitates management decision making and the achievement of measurable gains; and
– keeping Congress, the Chair, and the Commissioners fully and currently informed of significant issues and developments.

– Dave Lynn