SEC Whistleblower Blog
SEC Issues Second Largest Whistleblower Award
June 13, 2016
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on June 9 that they will award a staggering $17 million to a former employee whose tip “substantially advanced the agency’s investigation and ultimate enforcement action.” This is the fifth in a series of awards the SEC has issued over the past five weeks, bringing the...
SEC Issues Third Whistleblower Award In Just One Week
May 24, 2016
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Whistleblower Office announced on Friday, May 20, 2016, that it was issuing its third award in a week, this time awarding $450,000 to two individuals for information that “led the agency to open a corporate accounting investigation and for their assistance once the investigation...
SEC Whistleblower Office: Another Day, Another Award
May 18, 2016
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of the Whistleblower made its second multi-million dollar award announcement in less than a week on Tuesday, this time awarding over $5 million to a former company insider. According to the SEC, the whistleblower provided a “detailed tip” which allowed the agency to...
SEC Whistleblower Office Announces $3.5 Million Award
May 16, 2016
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Friday, May 13, 2016, that it would award at least $3.5 million to an employee who provided the Commission with information relating to an ongoing investigation. This marks the 28th whistleblower to receive an award under the SEC Whistleblower Program since it began...
SEC Sets Sights on Employers Who Impede Employees from Reporting
April 21, 2016
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is making good on its promise to reign in employers’ use of employment agreements that restrain employees from freely disclosing information to the SEC about securities fraud and other wrongdoing. The March 30 securities filing of Sandridge Energy, Inc., reveals a recent example...
Why Are DOJ Criminal Prosecutions of Corporations Dropping?
April 19, 2016
The protections and incentives afforded by the SEC’s whistleblower laws seek to reduce and ultimately stop corporate wrongdoing. The SEC’s whistleblower statutes are just one means the federal government uses to combat corporate malfeasance. Another tool the government uses to achieve the same overarching goals is prosecution...
SEC Supports Protections for Dodd-Frank Whistleblowers Who Report Internally
April 15, 2016
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to demonstrate its commitment to providing broad protections to whistleblowers who oppose securities laws violations. Most recently, the SEC moved to file an amicus brief in Danon v. The Vanguard Group, Inc., a Dodd-Frank retaliation claim currently pending before the...
Navistar Settles with SEC: Where Were the Whistleblowers?
April 12, 2016
Navistar International Corp., a maker of international trucks, has reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that the company misled investors about its development of engine technology that could meet U.S. emissions standards.
Struggling to Receive Certification
On March 31, Illinois-...
SEC Whistleblower Office Issues $275K Award
April 8, 2016
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an Order on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, stating that it will pay a whistleblower over $275,000 for information the whistleblower provided to the SEC that led to a successful enforcement action. Due to the SEC’s commitment to maintaining the anonymity of whistleblowers,...
What does “Successful Enforcement” Mean: Understanding the SEC’s Terminology
March 11, 2016
The SEC’s commitment to curbing abuses of the financial system is exemplified by its Whistleblower Reward Program: when a whistleblower provides information that leads to a successful investigation and results in sanctions over $1,000,000, she is entitled to a percentage of that award. Though this is an attractive...
