Whistleblower Bounties Archives

Anonymous Whistleblowing: Does the SEC Whistleblower Program Protect a Whistleblower’s Identity?

Anonymous Whistleblowing to the SEC Under the SEC Whistleblower Program, the SEC will issue awards to whistleblowers who provide original information that leads to enforcement actions with total monetary sanctions in excess of $1 million. Unlike other whistleblower-reward programs, the SEC’s program allows whistleblowers to submit tips anonymously (if represented by an attorney). While this … Continued

Leading SEC Whistleblower Law Firm Featured in Article About Growing Wave of Whistleblower Lawsuits

An article in the National Law Journal titled Law Firms React to Growing Wave of Whistleblower Lawsuits discusses the substantial growth in whistleblower rewards and whistleblower retaliation claims and mentions Zuckerman Law’s leading whistleblower practice. The article reports that several firms have expanded their whistleblower practices and that there has been an uptick in whistleblower … Continued

Whistleblower Lawyer Hammer Quoted by Bloomberg About Rebound in Sarbanes Oxley Whistleblower Retaliation Claims

Whistleblower lawyer Dallas Hammer is quoted extensively in a Bloomberg BNA article titled Dodd-Frank Overhaul Could Spark Rebound in SOX Whistle-Blower Cases. Hammer provided Bloomberg with his insights about the likely impact of the Financial Choice Act on the Dodd-Frank SEC Whistleblower Program and the whistleblower protection provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Hammer made a few … Continued

Whistleblower Attorney Chairing CLE on Whistleblower Rights of Private Sector Employees

Washington DC Whistleblower attorney Jason Zuckerman is chairing a DC Bar CLE on the whistleblower rights of private sector employees on May 16, 2017 from 5:30 pm to 8:45 pm. To register, click here. Don’t miss this chance to catch up on recent developments under whistleblower reward and whistleblower protection laws, including developments under the … Continued

Accounting Fraud SEC Whistleblower Attorneys

Accounting Fraud SEC Enforcement Action On March 3, 2017, the SEC announced that homebuilding company Desarrolladora Homex S.A.B. de C.V. (Homex) has agreed to settle charges that it used accounting fraud to overstate its revenues by approximately $3.3 billion during a three-year period. According to the SEC’s complaint, the company reported fake sales of more … Continued

SEC Awards for Disclosures of Foreign Bribery or FCPA Violations

SEC Awards for Disclosures of Foreign Bribery or FCPA Violations Under the SEC Whistleblower Program, the SEC Whistleblower Office will issue awards to whistleblowers who provide original information that leads to enforcement actions with sanctions in excess of $1 million. A whistleblower is eligible to receive an award of between 10-30 percent of the total sanctions … Continued

5 Tips for SEC Whistleblowers and Lessons Learned from SEC Whistleblower Awards

Lessons Learned from SEC Whistleblower Award Determinations The SEC Whistleblower Program has awarded more than $150 million to 42 whistleblowers. The orders announcing the awards, while sparse, offer critical guidance on how to: (1) recover an award; and (2) maximize the award percentage. These five lessons are drawn from those orders and our experience representing … Continued

SEC Whistleblower Program: What is the SEC Form TCR?

Submitting Information to the SEC Whistleblower Program The SEC Form TCR (Tip, Complaint, or Referral) is the form whistleblowers and their attorneys use to submit tips to the SEC Whistleblower Office. Under the Dodd-Frank SEC Whistleblower Program, a whistleblower who provides original information that leads to an enforcement action with total civil penalties in excess of … Continued

Whistleblower Rewards and Bounties for Disclosures of Market Manipulation Schemes

On February 3, 2017, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) charged The Royal Bank of Scotland a $85 million civil monetary penalty for an attempted manipulation of the U.S. Dollar International Swaps and Derivatives Association Fix (USD ISDAFIX) benchmark. According to the CFTC’s Order, RBS bid, offered, and executed transactions in targeted interest rate … Continued

SEC Targeting Investment Adviser Fraud

On February 2, 2017, the SEC charged an investment advisory business and its owner, Mark Varacchi, with stealing at least $3.9 million from investors. According to the SEC’s complaint, Varacchi misrepresented to investors that money would be allocated to up-and-coming hedge fund managers for investment purposes. But Varacchi instead commingled investor assets and manipulated account … Continued

Compliance Personnel, Auditors, Officers and Directors Can Obtain SEC Whistleblower Awards

Many key compliance personnel, including internal auditors, external auditors, officers, and directors may incorrectly assume that they are not eligible for awards under the SEC Whistleblower Program. In certain circumstances, however, the SEC allows these employees to report violations and become eligible for awards. In doing so, the SEC recognizes that key compliance personnel often are in the best … Continued

Draining the Swamp Requires Robust Whistleblower Protections and Incentives

The Trump Administration has promised to “drain the swamp,” combat corporate corruption, and root out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government. To achieve those laudable goals, the new Administration will need to appoint effective leaders to the agencies or subagencies charged with enforcing whistleblower-protection laws, and Congress will need to preserve and, indeed, … Continued