SEC whistleblower lawyer Jason Zuckerman recently participated in an online discussion addressing whether whistleblowing measures should be strengthened. Zuckerman Law, which represents SEC whistleblowers worldwide, noted the success of the SEC Whistleblower Program:
Incentivising whistleblowers to report wrongdoing has proven extraordinarily effective in the United States in protecting the public and investors. Cases brought by whistleblowers under the qui tam (whistleblower incentive) provision of the False Claims Act have enabled the US government to recover $30bn from contactors.
And in just eight years, the Dodd-Frank corporate fraud whistleblower incentive has enabled the Securities and Exchange Commission to secure $1.4bn in financial remedies, including more than $740m in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and interest. Whistleblower incentives are a critical tool to combat fraud.
Whistleblowers are eligible for an award for reporting information about federal securities laws violations, including:
- Accounting fraud;
- Investment and securities fraud;
- Insider trading;
- Foreign bribery and other FCPA violations;
- EB-5 investment fraud;
- Manipulation of a security’s price or volume;
- Fraudulent securities offerings and Ponzi schemes;
- Hedge fund fraud;
- Unregistered securities offerings;
- Investment adviser fraud;
- Broker-dealer anti-money laundering program violations;
- False or misleading statements about a company or investment;
- Inadequate internal controls;
- Deceptive non-GAAP financials;
- Improper revenue recognition;
- Violations of auditor independence rules;
- Misleading or incomplete cybersecurity disclosures; and
- Blockchain fraud.
To learn more about the SEC Whistleblower Program, download Zuckerman Law’s eBook: SEC Whistleblower Program: Tips from SEC Whistleblower Attorneys to Maximize an SEC Whistleblower Award.
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