Former SEC and Justice Department attorney Kevin Muhlendorf will take over as the SEC’s new inspector general on July 28, the agency announced this week.
Muhlendorf, who spent the last nine years as a partner in the White-collar defense and government-investigations practice at Washington D.C. law firm Wiley Rein LLP, is the latest in a long list of SEC staff who have served as chief or acting chief watchdog for the regulatory agency during the past three years.
He will take over the top spot from Katherine Reilly, who will return to her role as deputy inspector general after serving as acting inspector general since May.
Reilly stepped up to fill the spot left open following the retirement of Deborah Jeffrey, who was inspector general of AmeriCorps until April 2023, when she took over as inspector general of the SEC, where she worked for two years until her retirement in May.
The SEC named three different acting inspectors general during the year before Jeffrey was appointed as a semi-permanent replacement for Carl W. Hoecker, who retired in April, 2022 after serving nine years As inspector general.
The SEC’s IG leads an independent unit responsible for oversight of other divisions OF the agency with the goal of promoting the integrity, efficiency and effectiveness of SEC operations.
New inspector general
Muhlendorf served as senior counsel in the SEC’s Enforcement division from 2004 to 2010 anD served an additional six years as a trial lawyer and assistant chief of the Securities and Financial Fraud Unit of the US Dept. of Justice Criminal Division.
In his private practice at Wiley Rein Muhlendorf advised financial-services-industry clients on compliance and regulatory issues and defended both individuals and companies in criminal and civil securities-enforcement matters.
Muhlendorf served as acting IG for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority during 2023 and 2024, where he led a division with approximately three dozen auditors and special investigators, while under secondment from Wiley Rein.
“Kevin has the ideal combination of experience in internal investigations, compliance programs, and law enforcement to hit the ground running as our new Inspector General and ensure our agency’s operations are transparent, efficient, and effective,” SEC Chair Paul Atkins said in the announcement of Muhlendorf’s appointment as IG.
