Somebody Is Messing with the SEC Just For Kicks

Just when you thought that the SEC had turned the corner on all this negative shit and was ready to start kicking ass and taking names (or at least get a hot date with a whistleblower), something like this happens and M. Schape and crew still remain the laughing stock:

An email sent under the name of a Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement attorney caused a commotion both at the SEC and outside it. The long message harshly criticized the agency's chairman and inspector general.

All right! Dissension in the ranks, we like it...until we learn that the alleged sender's, Irene Gutierrez, BlackBerry had been stolen/misplaced/vanished into thin flipping air. The actual sender of said email faked Gutierrez's email address.

Which leads us to ask the question: If you're the SEC, don't you go with the original critical email story? I mean, infighting at the Commission is a helluva lot better than admitting that we got duped by some hack geek, isn't it?

Think about it. People within the Commission are sending snarky emails about each other, there are shouting matches, all-night meetings, maybe some people get fired, etc. sounds like they've got their game back on track, right?

But no, they decide to tell the truth and admit that someone can't keep track of our own personal items* and somebody had some fun at their expense. Seriously, what's one more embarrassing story going to hurt anyway?

*Seriously, most people start hyperventilating when they lose their cells, am I right, people?

An Email Causes Stir at the SEC [WSJ, subscription required] Sphere: Related Content