Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman Michael S. Selig on Monday named Greenberg Traurig shareholder David I. Miller as the agency’s enforcement director, a key appointment as the derivatives regulator asserts a larger role in overseeing prediction markets and the cryptocurrency industry.
The move comes as the CFTC has sharpened its jurisdictional stance and enforcement posture. The agency recently filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, asserting its exclusive jurisdiction over the U.S. commodity derivatives market, while lawmakers consider crypto legislation that could expand the CFTC’s authority.
“I am honored and thrilled to join the CFTC at this exciting and transformative time,” Miller said in a statement on Monday. “I am grateful for the trust and confidence that chairman Selig has placed in me and thank him for appointing me to this critical role."
After graduating from New York University School of Law in 1998, Miller began his career as a litigation associate before moving into public service in 2005. He first served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and later joined the Central Intelligence Agency. He then worked briefly as a counterterrorism trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Miller later moved to New York to become an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District, where he joined the securities and commodities fraud task force. He was part of teams that prosecuted more than 80 defendants for insider trading offenses and coordinated closely with agencies, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Miller returned to the private sector in July 2014 as a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where he worked in the firm’s white‑collar investigations and securities enforcement practices. During his time there, he also served as a consultant for the Showtime television series "Billions." He joined Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder in October 2019.
At Greenberg Traurig, Miller represented Fortune 500 companies, banks, broker dealers, hedge funds, private equity firms, crypto businesses, corporate executives and other clients in criminal and civil enforcement matters, government investigations, complex litigation and national‑security cases.
Miller has tried 12 jury and bench cases, including several multi-defendant securities and accounting fraud trials, and secured guilty verdicts against nearly all defendants on all counts as a federal prosecutor. As an appellate advocate, he has briefed and argued multiple cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Miller succeeds Paul Hayeck, who has served as acting enforcement director since June 2025. Hayeck will remain at the agency as chief of the enforcement division’s complex fraud task force, which targets market manipulation, abusive trading practices and other misconduct.
Selig said Miller will play a key role in keeping the division focused on its core mission of policing fraud, abuse and manipulation, rather than drifting into policymaking.
“I am delighted to welcome David to the CFTC,” Selig said. “He brings to the commission decades of experience as a federal prosecutor and white-collar defense attorney, with a proven track record of defending market participants against the novel legal theories of overzealous regulators and plaintiffs."
Mar 2
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