Aaron W. Lipson Named as Associate Regional Director for Enforcement in the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2016-207

Washington D.C., Sept. 30, 2016

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Aaron W. Lipson has been named the Associate Regional Director for enforcement in the Atlanta office.
Mr. Lipson began working in the Division of Enforcement in the Atlanta office in 2004 as a staff attorney, before becoming an Assistant Regional Director in 2010.  In 2010, he also joined the Division’s Complex Financial Instruments Unit, which investigates potential misconduct related to asset-backed securities, derivatives, and other complex financial products.  In his new position, Mr. Lipson will oversee the SEC’s enforcement activities covered by the Atlanta office.
During his career at the SEC, Mr. Lipson has investigated or supervised dozens of enforcement matters involving a variety of securities law violations, including charges against:
  • The former Chairman and majority owner of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (TBW), the one-time largest non-depository mortgage lender in the country, for his role in orchestrating a large-scale securities fraud scheme and attempting to scam the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and against TBW’s former Treasurer for aiding and abetting the fraud;
  • Bank of America and two subsidiaries for defrauding investors in an offering of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) by failing to disclose key risks and misrepresenting facts about the underlying mortgages, which were resolved as part of a global settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in which Bank of America paid $16.65 billion and agreed to admit to facts set out in the SEC’s order;
  • Fraud charges against 11 former executives and board members at Superior Bank and its holding company involved in various schemes to conceal the extent of loan losses as the bank was faltering in the wake of the financial crisis; and
  • A pair of Canadian citizens with conducting an international microcap fraud scheme by stockpiling shares in a coal mining company and funding a multi-million dollar promotional campaign to hype the stock while simultaneously dumping their shares and routing the proceeds through offshore accounts.
“Aaron’s significant experience investigating diverse violations of the federal securities laws and his keen intellect and judgment position him perfectly to lead the Atlanta enforcement team,” said Andrew J. Ceresney, Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division.  “We look forward to continued successes from the Atlanta enforcement team under Aaron’s leadership.”
“Aaron is respected throughout our office for his outstanding track record in producing significant enforcement cases. He is a superb lawyer with excellent leadership skills. Aaron also brings extraordinary judgment and knowledge of the securities laws to his new role as leader of the ARO’s talented enforcement staff,” said Walter Jospin, Regional Director of the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office.
Mr. Lipson said, “I am honored by this appointment and am truly excited to continue the Atlanta office’s long history of aggressive but fair enforcement of the federal securities laws.  I am also humbled and privileged to be able to continue to come to work every day with the incredibly talented Atlanta Enforcement team, all of whom have dedicated their professional careers to protecting our nation’s investors.”
Before joining the SEC staff, Mr. Lipson worked as a senior litigation associate at Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP in Atlanta, Georgia.  Mr. Lipson earned his law degree with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2000, and his bachelor’s degree in history with honors from Yale University in 1997.
Mr. Lipson succeeds William P. Hicks, who is now senior trial counsel in the Atlanta office.
###