Washington – The top enforcement official at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday he would resign after four tumultuous years probing fraud at the nation’s biggest companies and Wall Street investment banks.
Stephen Cutler, 43, said he would leave the agency in mid-May to return to the private sector. For ethical reasons, Cutler said, he has not yet entertained job offers from law firms or corporations, many of which are likely to vie for his expertise, recruiters said.
Cutler took over as enforcement chief at the SEC in October 2001, two months before Houston energy trader Enron Corp. collapsed and ushered in a series of accounting scandals that badly damaged investor confidence.
In nearly four years, Cutler’s enforcement unit grew from 900 to 1,200 employees and filed civil fraud charges against the former leaders of Enron, WorldCom Inc., Tyco International Ltd., Greenwood Village-based Adelphia and Denver-based Qwest.
Qwest paid the SEC $250 million in October to settle charges of fraud.
Last month, the SEC sued former Qwest chief executive Joe Nacchio and six former company officials for allegedly inflating the company’s financial performance and misleading investors. It reached settlements with five other former Qwest executives.
Under Cutler, the enforcement unit took particular interest in holding accountable bankers, lawyers and accountants who helped others commit fraud.
Staff writer Greg Griffin contributed to this report.
