SEC Involvement
Chapter 10 - SEC Involvement
Lena Ortiz did not sound impressed by titles.
She introduced herself on video, confirmed the call was voluntary, and asked Claire to begin with the share sale rather than the boardroom incident.
Behind Ortiz was a plain government office with gray filing cabinets and a dying plant.
Claire respected the choice immediately.
“Mr. Voss submitted a private block transfer after receiving notice of an internal preservation review,” Priya said.
“What did the review concern?” Ortiz asked.
“Potential unauthorized exports of proprietary data and undisclosed conflicts involving a competitor.”
“Potential?”
Tom leaned toward the camera.
“We’ve verified the route and destination. Intent is still under review.”
Ortiz’s eyes moved to him.
“You’re the chief technology officer?”
“Founding CTO.”
“Explain the route as if I’m smart but impatient.”
Tom smiled once.
“My favorite audience.”
He walked her through the disguised maintenance tickets, service account, split file packages, North Gate tenant, and final destination at Veridian.
Ortiz interrupted often.
Who created the account?
Who approved access?
Which records were native and which were reconstructed?
Could the files have been sent for legitimate benchmarking?
Tom answered without embellishment.
When he finished, Ortiz looked at Priya.
“Mr. Voss’s stake in Veridian?”
“Disclosed as passive through Voss Capital.”
“His stake in North Gate?”
“Not disclosed.”
“How material?”
“Forty percent ownership.”
Ortiz sat back.
“That is not a rounding error.”
Claire clicked her pen once beneath the camera frame.
Ortiz noticed the sound.
“What happened in the boardroom?”
Claire gave the facts in order.
Emergency vote. Invalid proxy schedule. Laptop destroyed.
Marcus suspended. Richard’s access limited.
No adjectives.
Ortiz listened until Claire mentioned the active records hold.
“What was the hold related to?”
“A client contract dispute unrelated to this matter.”
“So the laptop’s contents were already subject to preservation.”
“Yes.”
“Was anything lost?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Tom shook his head.
“The drive is damaged, but most business data was mirrored.”
“Most?”
Claire answered.
“I had local notes and draft communications that may not have synced.”
Ortiz wrote something down.
“Who knew the hold existed?”
“Legal, executive leadership, and relevant IT staff.”
“Your husband was executive leadership.”
“Yes.”
Priya added, “He claims he did not know.”
Ortiz did not react.
“Claims are for later.”
The interview continued for ninety minutes.
Ortiz asked Priya to share the company’s conflict policy and every annual certification Richard had signed. She asked Tom for the raw logs, not screenshots, and requested a map of every system that could have generated independent copies.
Then she asked Claire about the people.
“Who benefits if you are removed?”
“Marcus receives the title. Richard receives influence. Veridian receives continued access.”
“Who loses?”
“Lumen’s shareholders, clients whose data informed the models, and employees whose work was transferred without permission.”
“You didn’t include yourself.”
Claire looked at the camera.
“I’m included in the shareholders.”
Ortiz did not accept the deflection.
“Your marriage?”
Priya shifted beside her.
Claire answered anyway.
“That loss existed before this call. The boardroom made it visible.”
Ortiz wrote something down.
The question left Claire restless after the interview. She walked to the break room and found an abandoned mug with a dried coffee ring beside the sink. Someone had written Q3 OR BUST on it in permanent marker.
The company’s life continued in slogans, dirty dishes, and calendar invites.
Claire rinsed the mug and placed it in the dishwasher. It was a small task no one needed from the CEO. She did it because her hands needed a problem with a clear end.
By the end, the dying plant behind Ortiz had begun to lean in the afternoon sun.
She closed her notebook.
“I opened this as a disclosure review tied to a proposed share sale. Based on what you’ve shown, I’m expanding it.”
Richard’s ownership in North Gate created an undisclosed conflict. The data transfer could support fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and possible misstatements to shareholders.
His attempted liquidation raised questions about trading while aware of material nonpublic information.
Ortiz’s tone remained matter-of-fact.
“We’ll issue preservation requests today. Do not conduct interviews that could interfere with ours without coordinating through counsel.”
Priya nodded.
“Understood.”
“Ms. Bennett, one more question.”
Claire looked into the camera.
“Did you know about the data exports before your husband destroyed the laptop?”
“No.”
“Did he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you believe the destruction was intended to eliminate evidence?”
Claire’s fingers rested against the silver pen.
Belief was easy. Proof was not.
“I believe Marcus intended to intimidate me and demonstrate control. Whether Richard expected the laptop to be destroyed is a separate question.”
Ortiz nodded once.
“Good answer.”
“It’s the accurate one.”
After the call ended, Tom exhaled and stood.
“I need coffee that doesn’t come with federal consequences.”
Priya stayed seated.
“That went better than it could have.”
Claire looked at the blank screen.
“Meaning?”
“She believes the records.”
“She believes they require more records.”
“That too.”
---
Ortiz arrived in person three days later.
She wore a dark green suit and carried a canvas tote instead of a briefcase. In the data center, she asked Tom to repeat the entire chain while an SEC forensic specialist imaged the clean-room copy.
At the end, Ortiz studied the first export after Richard’s funding-round increase.
“This is not an HR dispute,” she said.
“No,” Claire replied.
Ortiz glanced toward her.
“Your husband’s temper tantrum in that boardroom just uncovered something a lot more serious than anyone intended.”
Priya’s phone buzzed.
She read the message and handed it to Claire.
May you like
Marcus’s lawyer had sent formal notice.
He was filing for divorce.
