What is the SEC Office of the Whistleblower?

SEC Office of the Whistleblower

In 2011, the SEC Office of the Whistleblower was created pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) to run the SEC Whistleblower Reward Program. The program provides monetary incentives to individuals who report violations of the federal securities laws to the SEC.

Our clients’ SEC whistleblower tips have helped the SEC halt more than $1 billion in fraudulent investment schemes and we have secured SEC whistleblower awards for seven whistleblowers reporting a wide range of violations of federal securities laws, including accounting fraud, FCPA violations, EB-5 fraud, and violations of auditor independence rules.

Since 2012, the SEC has issued more than $1.8 billion in awards to whistleblowers, which includes awards to our clients totaling millions of dollars. Experienced and effective SEC whistleblower attorneys can provide critical guidance to whistleblowers throughout this process to protect their identities and increase the likelihood that they not only obtain, but maximize, their awards.

If you have original information that you would like to report to the SEC Office of the Whistleblower, contact the Director of our SEC Whistleblower Practice at mstock@zuckermanlaw.com or call our leading SEC whistleblower lawyers at (202) 930-5901or (202) 262-8959. All inquiries are confidential.

SEC Whistleblower Rules

Under the rules of the program, the SEC Office of the Whistleblower is required to issue awards to eligible whistleblowers who provide original information that leads to successful enforcement actions with total monetary sanctions in excess of $1 million. In exchange for specific and credible tips, whistleblowers will receive an award of between 10% and 30% of the total monetary sanctions collected. The SEC considers positive and negative factors when determining an award percentage.

The program allows individuals to submit information anonymously to the SEC Office of the Whistleblower if represented by an attorney. Whistleblowers are also afforded substantial protection against retaliation.

SEC Whistleblower Reward Program

Under the SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, whistleblowers can submit tips anonymously to the SEC through an attorney and be eligible for an award for exposing any material violation of the federal securities laws, including:

The SEC has jurisdiction over a wide range of industries and entities – both public and private.

Successfully Navigating the Process to Obtain an SEC Whistleblower Award

SEC Whistleblower Law Firm

If you have original information that you would like to report to the SEC Office of the Whistleblower, contact the Director of our SEC Whistleblower Practice at mstock@zuckermanlaw.com or call our leading SEC whistleblower lawyers at (202) 930-5901 or (202) 262-8959. All inquiries are confidential.

In conjunction with our courageous clients, our SEC whistleblower lawyers have helped the SEC halt multi-million dollar investment schemes, expose violations at large publicly traded companies, and return funds to defrauded investors.

In contrast to many other SEC whistleblower law firms, our team of SEC whistleblower lawyers includes a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner with substantial experience auditing public companies and investigating complex fraud schemes. We understand the many challenges that the SEC faces in investigating our clients’ disclosures and take measures to increase the likelihood that the SEC will be able to effectively pursue the disclosures that our SEC whistleblower lawyers provide on behalf of our clients. Recently, U.S. News and Best Lawyers® named Zuckerman Law a Tier 1 firm in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Click below to hear SEC whistleblower attorney Matthew Stock’s tips for SEC whistleblowers: