Michael Welsh and Joseph Watkins, lead attorneys in the SEC lawsuit against crypto platform DEBT Box, resigned after findings of “gross abuse” of power in the case.
Two lawyers for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have reportedly resigned after a district court sanctioned the agency for “gross abuse” of power and acting in “bad faith” in a crypto case.
According to an April 22 Bloomberg report, Michael Welsh and Joseph Watkins, lead attorneys in the case against crypto platform DEBT Box, resigned earlier this month. Sources familiar with the matter say the lawyers were warned they would be terminated if they stayed.
The lawyers were both relatively new to the agency, as indicated by their LinkedIn profiles. Welsh served as a trial attorney at the SEC from December 2022, while Watkins acted as an attorney at the Division of Enforcement beginning in January 2023.
