Claudius Modesti, Director of Enforcement and Investigations, to Leave PCAOB

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced today that Claudius B. Modesti will leave the PCAOB this month after 14 years as the director of the Division of Enforcement and Investigations.

Mr. Modesti joined the Board in May 2004 as the PCAOB's first enforcement director and led the team that built the enforcement group from its inception.

"Claudius has made remarkable contributions to the PCAOB and he is well-regarded and respected at the PCAOB and around the world for establishing and developing our enforcement program," said PCAOB Chairman William D. Duhnke. "We wish him all the best."

As director of the Division of Enforcement and Investigations, Mr. Modesti formed and led a team of attorneys, accountants and other professional staff in the investigations and litigation of violations of PCAOB rules and other applicable securities regulations.

He and his team have brought settled and litigated matters across a broad spectrum of audit firms and conduct, including significant audit failures, noncooperation with the Board's oversight processes, and independence violations. A significant number of these matters involved cross-border audits.

Under Mr. Modesti's leadership, the division has developed strong working relationships with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, federal banking regulators, and foreign audit regulatory bodies. Mr. Modesti also served recently as the chairman of the Enforcement Working Group of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators.

"It has been the greatest honor and privilege of my professional career to be a part of the PCAOB for the last 14 years and to have worked with the immensely dedicated and talented colleagues in the Division of Enforcement and Investigations and throughout the PCAOB," said Mr. Modesti. "I am particularly proud to see the PCAOB's enforcement function become a vital factor in improving audit quality and protecting investors in the U.S. capital markets.

"My sincerest gratitude goes out to Chairman Duhnke and former Chairmen Doty, Olson and the late William McDonough, as well as all the Board members, for their leadership and support and for the opportunities they provided to me," he added.

Before arriving at the PCAOB, Mr. Modesti was an assistant U. S. attorney for the U. S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, where he led the investigation and prosecution of white collar crimes, particularly securities fraud. He also was appointed corporate fraud coordinator for the office.

Mr. Modesti served as a trial attorney for the Department of Justice, Criminal Division, and spent four years in the Division of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission. He also served as a law clerk for Judge J. Frederick Motz of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Mr. Modesti earned a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a J.D., magna cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center.