SEC Enforcement Activity Drops 22% as David Woodcock Takes Lead

The SEC's Division of Enforcement is moving away from large corporate cases with steep penalties. The division filed 456 actions in fiscal 2025, a 22% drop from the 583 actions filed in the prior year. This decline in activity follows an 18% reduction in staff during the fiscal year ending in September. The division, which consists of more than 1,000 people, will be led by David Woodcock starting May 4, 2026. Woodcock, a certified public accountant and former partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, who previously served as the SEC's Division of Enforcement's Fort Worth regional office director from 2011 to 2015, replaces Margaret Ryan. Ryan resigned on March 16 after clashing with SEC leadership over the enforcement direction. Woodcock will execute Chairman Paul S. Atkins' vision of prioritizing cases that provide investor protection and leverage market integrity. The SEC has dismissed numerous high-profile cases against Coinbase and Binance, others who had previously been targeted. The SEC has settled its case against crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun and three affiliated companies for $10 million in March, with Sun neither admitting nor denied the allegations. The SEC's Division of Enforcement is moving away from large corporate cases with steep penalties.