SEC Announces Senior Enforcement Staffing Changes

SEC Enforcement

On January 3, the SEC announced that George Canellos, co-director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, will leave the agency this month. Mr. Canellos has been in the position since April 2013, after serving as acting director for several months prior. The Enforcement Division now will be led solely by Andrew Ceresney, who also was appointed co-director last April. On January 6, the SEC named Michael J. Osnato, Jr. chief of the Complex Financial Instruments Unit of the Enforcement Division. Mr. Osnato joined the SEC in 2008 and has served as an assistant director in the New York Regional Office since 2010. The SEC stated that he has played a key role in a number of significant SEC enforcement actions and will now lead a unit comprised of attorneys and industry experts investigating potential misconduct related to asset-backed securities, derivatives, and other complex financial products.