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CFTC Targets Cybersecurity and Environmental Fraud

Posted  07/6/23
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Logo with Orange Background
Last week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced the creation of two new task forces.  One is the Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies Task Force, to address fraud relating to cybersecurity and other emerging technologies.  The other is the Environmental Fraud Task Force, to go after environmental fraud and misconduct in derivatives and relevant spot markets.  The CFTC is the federal agency...

CFTC Whistleblower Alert: Whistleblowers Wanted Relating to Misconduct in Carbon Markets

Posted  06/22/23
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Logo
On Tuesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a Whistleblower Alert calling for help in identifying fraud or manipulation in the carbon markets.  The CFTC is the principal federal watchdog for fraud involving the commodities markets.  Under the CFTC Whistleblower Program, those who voluntarily provide information that leads to a successful CFTC enforcement action are entitled to an award of up...

$279 Million SEC Whistleblower Remains a Mystery

Posted  05/31/23
Securities Exchange Commission Logo Behind Gavel
It is the largest award ever made to a whistleblower on record under any of the ever-expanding list of whistleblower rewards programs$279 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) "to a whistleblower whose information and assistance led to the successful enforcement of SEC and related actions."  That is pretty much all the SEC disclosed in announcing the award because of the agency's strong...

Top Ten SEC and CFTC Recoveries of 2022

Posted  02/1/23
stock market numbers
In 2022, the SEC and CFTC redoubled their efforts to preserve market integrity and shut down financial frauds.  Both in size and composition, the agencies’ major recoveries look quite different from a year prior.  2021 was all about crypto, with four of the top ten recoveries relating to crypto offerings or exchanges.  With the recent collapse of the crypto market—exposing some of the biggest frauds since the...

Fiscal Year 2022 Sets New Records for CFTC Whistleblower Program

Posted  11/28/22
Cast metal seal of CFTC on brick wall
Fiscal year 2022 was sure to be a record-breaking year for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Reward Program, as it started with a $200 million whistleblower award – an award so large that Congressional intervention was needed.  The CFTC Whistleblower Program’s annual report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2022 confirms this, reporting more than $203 million in total awards. Created by the

Precious Metals, Costly Fraud

Posted  02/4/22
stack of coins
Safeguard Metals LLC and its principal, Jeffrey Santulan a/k/a Jeffrey Hill were hit with multiple enforcement actions this week, alleging fraud in their sale of securities and commodities to investors they targeted to sell their existing securities and invest the proceeds into gold and silver coins.  The CFTC and 27 state security regulatory agencies jointly filed one action, and the SEC filed its own action.  Both...

Top Ten SEC and CFTC Recoveries of 2021

Posted  01/7/22
Top Ten Sign with Letters
As we recently detailed, 2021 proved to be a blockbuster year for whistleblowers under the CFTC and SEC Whistleblower ProgramsSeven of the ten largest whistleblower awards of 2021 were made to SEC and CFTC whistleblowers, including a massive $200 million CFTC award that was roughly twice as large as all prior CFTC awards combined.  In total, the SEC paid more awards—both in total dollars and individual...

CFTC’s Largest-Ever Whistleblower Award Edges out SEC and IRS Awards and Acts as a Calling Card for the CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program Globally

Posted  11/8/21
globe
As we’ve reported in two recent blog posts, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s recent award of $200 million to a whistleblower announced on October 21 is certainly the largest the CFTC has ever made, but also the largest award made under any federal whistleblower-reward program to a single whistleblower, including the False Claims Act.  To appreciate the significance of this award, we wanted to give it...

CFTC Whistleblower Program 2021 Annual Report Shows Continuing Strength of Program as it Manages Challenging Year

Posted  11/1/21
Cast metal seal of CFTC on brick wall
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued its required annual report to Congress covering the CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program.  The report details the successes of the program over the 2021 fiscal year.  Created by the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFTC Whistleblower Program pays awards to eligible whistleblowers who voluntarily provide the Commission with original information, about matters within the CFTC’s...

SEC Chairman Views Cryptocurrency Markets as the “Wild West” and Calls for More Investor Protection

Posted  08/13/21
Cryptocurrency and US Hundred Dollar Bills Scattered Around
During a recent speech discussing the intersection of national security with cryptocurrencies at the Aspen Security Forum, Gary Gensler, the new Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), made clear the SEC will use its broad powers to continue protecting investors from the volatility associated with cryptocurrency markets which he characterized as the “Wild West.”  He also urged Congress to grant...