backOn April 8, 2026, the SEC issued a settled order, on a neither admit nor deny basis, against Francis Decker, the former Prager Metis CPAs, LLC (“Prager Metis”) lead engagement partner on Prager Metis’s audits of FTX, a former crypto asset trading platform.
According to the SEC, Decker violated Generally Accepted Auditing Standards in connection with the issuance of two audit reports in July 2021 and April 2022 because he did not have a sufficient understanding of FTX, or the crypto asset markets in which it operated. Specifically, the SEC found that he failed to apply professional skepticism and auditor judgment in client acceptance, engagement staffing, audit planning and execution, and audit documentation.
The SEC further found that these shortcomings resulted in a series of other auditing failures in the design and execution of the audits. Due to these failures, the SEC found that the Prager Metis team lacked sufficient appropriate audit evidence to support its audit opinions that FTX’s financial statements presented fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of FTX and its subsidiaries in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The SEC highlighted Prager Metis’s failure to sufficiently understand FTX’s relationship with Alameda Research LLC (“Alameda”) and the pivotal role Alameda played in FTX’s business, which was at the heart of the misappropriation of billions of dollars of FTX customer assets that led to the collapse of FTX in November 2022.
The SEC found that Decker engaged in improper professional conduct pursuant to Section 4C(a)(2) of the Exchange Act and Rule 102(e)(1)(ii) of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and denied Decker the privilege of appearing or practicing before the Commission as an accountant. Decker may request reinstatement after two years.
The SEC settled order is available here.