SEC Whistleblower Blog
Whistleblowers are Getting Much-Needed Help from the CFTC
October 13, 2016
As part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, Congress mandated that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) establish a whistleblower program to reward people who come forward with information on violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). The CFTC enforces the CEA, regulating...
SEC Awards $4 Million to Whistleblower
September 21, 2016
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on September 20, 2016, that it would award just over $4 million to a whistleblower. Committed to protecting whistleblowers' confidentiality, the Commission did not disclose the individual's identity or the involved organization. However, the SEC ...
Does Dodd-Frank Protect Internal Whistleblowers?
September 20, 2016
There is a well-entrenched circuit split on whether whistleblowers who report potential securities law violations to their employers but not to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are protected from retaliation under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank). What is unambiguous...
SEC Cracks Down on Employer "Pretaliation"
September 15, 2016
If you have an employment contract that includes a clause that impedes your ability to report potential securities violations to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), you could have a “pretaliation” claim in which the SEC may be interested.
What is Pretaliation?
“Pretaliation” is a relatively new...
SEC Awards $22.5 Million to Monsanto Whistleblower
September 2, 2016
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a $22.5 million award to a whistleblower for providing information about a “well-hidden” fraud in the accounting and reporting by a publicly traded company. Although the SEC did not divulge the name of the company or the facts of the underlying enforcement action, the...
SEC Denies Whistleblower Awards for Three Claimants
September 1, 2016
On July 19 of this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denied the appeals of three claimants who applied for whistleblower awards related to a recent enforcement action. The SEC whistleblower awards program provides awards to individuals who can show that they voluntarily provided original information that led to...
SEC Cracks Down on Company Policies that Prevent Employees from Reporting Fraud
August 25, 2016
In recent whistleblower blogs, we wrote about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) efforts to enforce an important rule preventing employers from using employment agreements to curtail employee disclosures of securities fraud and other wrongdoing. In just the last few weeks, the SEC has stepped up its efforts along...
CFTC Announces $50,000 to Fourth Whistleblower
July 26, 2016
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on Tuesday, July 26 that it would award $50,000 to a whistleblower who voluntarily provided the organization enough information to proceed with an enforcement action. The award marks only the fourth since the program’s inception in 2010. Though the SEC and CFTC...
[Video] How Can You Become an SEC Whistleblower?
July 7, 2016
Although it is still relatively young, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Whistleblower Program has grown exponentially over the past five years. Despite the growing number and size of whistleblower awards, it is not always clear what makes a good whistleblower case. What is an SEC whistleblower? Who qualifies as...
Whistleblower Awards Increase Dramatically in 2016
June 28, 2016
The SEC Whistleblower Program rewards those who voluntarily provide information that helps the agency identify securities violations and successfully enforce the law. As shown in the graphic above, the SEC’s whistleblower award program has substantially grown since its launch in 2011. Both the frequency and size of the...
