By Pete Schroeder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission's San Francisco office is leaving the agency after 16 years, the regulator announced Thursday.
While policing Silicon Valley, Jina Choi oversaw charges against Elon Musk and Tesla Inc (O:TSLA) for misleading tweets, fraudulent claims at the blood testing startup Theranos, and a major data breach at Yahoo Inc , now known as Altaba Inc (O:AABA).The SEC did not say where Choi would head next in its announcement.
"Jina’s leadership and thoughtful approach to new and complex issues has served the Commission and investors very well," said Chairman Jay Clayton in statement. “Under Jina’s direction, our dedicated staff in San Francisco has established important precedents that benefit the interests of our long-term investors which we will continue to follow in the years ahead.”
While head of the San Francisco office, Choi led a staff of 130 personnel charged with monitoring the Pacific Northwest and northern California.
She began her career at the SEC as a staff attorney. She also served as a civil rights trial attorney at the Justice Department, and was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Texas.