Compliance March 5, 2025

Treasury Secretary Bessent Announces JR Gibbens as Sovereign Wealth Fund Adviser

Gibbens joins the Treasury from the Office of Strategic Capital, a unit of the Department of Defense that invests in areas critical to national security.

Reported by

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent announced last week several new appointments to the department, including former private equity executive JR Gibbens as an adviser for strategic investments and plans related to the establishment of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

In early February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Commerce to establish a sovereign wealth fund over the next 12 months. That duty falls on Bessent and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, a former chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald.

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Gibbens joins the Treasury from the Office of Strategic Capital, a unit of the Department of Defense that invests in areas critical to national security. He was the inaugural CIO of the DoD’s first credit program.

Prior to working for the government, Gibbens was the director of private capital markets at Capstone Partners, worked as a fixed-income trader, co-founded a drone company, and began his career as a fighter pilot. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a master’s degree from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from the Rice University Business School.

In addition to Gibbens, Treasury announced the following appointments:

  • Gene Lange, counselor to the secretary;
  • Derek Theurer, counselor to the secretary, advising on domestic and international tax policy; and
  • Tyler Williams, counselor to the secretary, advising on digital assets and blockchain technology.
Compliance March 4, 2025

Participant Data at Community Colleges, Public Schools Exposed in Breach at TPA

A third-party administrator of 403(b) and 457(b) plans experienced a cyber breach last month, exposing sensitive information of more than 48,400 retirement plan participants.

Reported by

Carruth Compliance Consulting Inc., a third-party administrator that handles 403(b) and 457(b) retirement savings for many school districts, has suffered a data breach, exposing the data of more than 48,400 participants.

At least 12 community colleges and public schools that use Carruth’s services have been impacted, according to several alerts on the Maine attorney general’s website; the state requires notification if any residents were affected by a breach.

A letter sent to affected participants stated that on January 13, schools were notified by Carruth that it experienced a data security incident in which portions of its computer network were accessed by an unauthorized party.

Carruth reported that, upon learning of the incident, the company began working with third-party specialists to investigate the activity and then notified the FBI. Carruth’s investigation determined that personal information may have been acquired without authorization on or about December 21, 2024, but Carruth could not identify affected individuals.

Information potentially affected may have included names, Social Security numbers and financial account information. In more limited circumstances, the information could include driver’s license numbers, W-2 information, medical billing information (but not medical records) and tax filings.

Carruth reported that if participants had provided the personal information of beneficiaries, their information may also have been affected in this incident.

The schools wrote in letters to affected participants that they are working to identify all current and former employees whose personal information was shared with Carruth and sufficient contact information to notify them about the incident.

According to the Maine AG’s site, all of the schools impacted are located in Oregon, including Gladstone School District, Chemeketa Community College, North Santiam School District, North Wasco County School District, Jefferson School District and Klamath County School District, Linn Benton Community College, Perrydale School District, Junction City School District, Southern Oregon Educational Services District, Greater Albany Public School District and Lincoln County School District.

Seattle Public Schools also released an FAQ with more information about the breach.

Carruth did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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