MIAMI and MINNEAPOLIS – Jan. 30, 2026 – A team of Greenberg Traurig attorneys led by Global Litigation Practice Co-Chair William Michael, Jr. secured a victory for Dale Swanberg on Jan. 30 when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dismissed its civil securities fraud charges against him. This dismissal of all charges with prejudice brings Swanberg’s journey to clear his name and preserve his integrity and legacy to a successful conclusion.
“The SEC’s decision to dismiss all of the charges against Mr. Swanberg, which came after a full review of all the facts and the realization that the original allegations they brought had no basis, is tremendously rewarding, as it proves that Mr. Swanberg’s reputation and legacy for honesty is validated,” said Michael, who also co-chairs Greenberg Traurig’s Trial Practice Group. “This matter, involving several years of cost forecasting for 12 mega construction projects across the country, required a huge team within the firm, which was critical to proving what we told the SEC from day one: Our client was innocent of their allegations, and they could either dismiss the case or try it.”
Swanberg, an experienced senior leader in the heavy civil construction field, had been recruited to Granite Construction in 2017 to oversee its Large Projects Group, which worked on projects including dams, bridges, and highways with costs over several billion dollars. The construction industry has historically faced significant challenges in forecasting costs on these large projects due to the complexity and thousands of cost codes associated with each project and the inherent uncertainty and subjectivity of the costs. In 2021, Granite restated its financial statements for 2017-2019, largely based on revisions to the forecasts associated with the Large Projects Group.
The SEC opened a civil investigation related to Granite’s restatement and settled with the company. Swanberg refused to settle, as everything he had done had been transparent and reviewed and approved by Granite's senior leadership and outside auditors. The SEC elected to bring a civil securities fraud case against Swanberg as the sole individual. After three years of discovery, the review of millions of pages of documents, sworn depositions of dozens of key individuals, and a forensic review of the forecasting on multiple large projects, as well as obtaining access to the work papers of the outside auditor, the senior staff of the SEC’s Enforcement Division allowed Greenberg Traurig to make a detailed presentation on why there was no liability on the part of Swanberg. This detailed analysis showed the SEC that Granite had used different standards and hindsight in determining the reasonableness of cost forecasts when restating the relevant financial statements. It also showed that Swanberg had been completely transparent and all forecasts were approved by Granite’s senior leadership. In addition, the presentation showed that the outside auditors were fully aware of the forecasts — asking detailed questions at the time — and were satisfied that those forecasts were appropriate.
SEC enforcement staff, after an objective review of all the discovery, as well as a reevaluation of its original position based upon the defense presentation, agreed that a voluntary dismissal was appropriate, and the SEC Commission agreed to dismiss the matter.
Greenberg Traurig’s team in the matter comprised more than 75 attorneys.