The Securities and Exchange Commission today named Daniel J. Wadley as Regional Director of its Salt Lake office.  Mr. Wadley succeeds Richard R. Best, whom the agency named Regional Director of its Atlanta office in January.

Mr. Wadley, who served as acting Regional Director after Mr. Best’s move to Atlanta, began at the SEC in 2010 as a trial counsel in the Salt Lake office.  He also has served as counsel to the Co-Directors of the Division of Enforcement. 

“Dan possesses excellent judgment and deep institutional knowledge of the Salt Lake office and the Commission that is so critical to this position,” said Stephanie Avakian, Co-Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division.  “I am confident of the office’s continued success under his leadership.”

“Dan is well known in the Salt Lake office and region as a tough-but-fair litigator who has a keen mind and sound judgment,” said Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division.  “We are very fortunate to have him lead the Salt Lake office.”

Mr. Wadley said, “I am honored by this appointment and look forward to continuing the Salt Lake office’s strong tradition of enforcement in complex and cutting-edge cases as well as its effective collaboration with the Commission’s law enforcement and regulatory partners.”

 As a trial counsel in the agency’s Salt Lake office, Mr. Wadley handled an array of litigation including:

• A Utah-based retirement plan administrator who allegedly defrauded investors in self-directed individual retirement accounts (IRAs)
• Two business associates in Chile who allegedly engaged in insider trading on nonpublic information that one of them learned while serving on the board of directors of a pharmaceutical company
• The former chief financial officer of a computer networking device manufacturer who allegedly diverted company funds to cover unauthorized personal and entertainment expenses
• A Utah man and company who allegedly operated a real estate-based Ponzi scheme that bilked $100 million from investors nationwide, against whom the agency prevailed at trial

Before joining the SEC, Mr. Wadley was in private practice in Salt Lake City and in the Washington, D.C. area.  He received his law degree with honors from Georgetown University Law Center in 2000 and his undergraduate degree with honors from Brigham Young University in 1997.