Archive

SEC Whistleblower Program 2019 Annual Report Tells Story of Significant Impact - Despite Beginning the Year with a Government Shutdown

Posted 12/12/19

Securities and Exchange Commission seal on building

In its 2019 Annual Report to Congress, the SEC Office of the Whistleblower described its program as continuing to have a “significant impact” on enforcement and investor protection efforts. In the fiscal year that ended in September 2019, the SEC Whistleblower Program received the second highest number of tips in program history, and issued the third largest whistleblower award to date. These numbers...

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud, Statistics,

CFTC Whistleblower Program Annual Report Shows Program Open for Business, yet Challenges Persist

Posted 11/15/19

Screenshot of CFTC Whistleblower Program web page

Fifteen million dollars is how much the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Whistleblower Program paid whistleblowers in FY 2019 according to the agency’s annual report to Congress. This amount includes:

$7 million to one individual whistleblower;
Over $2 million to a non-insider whistleblower who provided independent analysis of market data; and,
Close to $1.5 million to a...

Tagged in: CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, Financial and Investment Fraud, Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, International Whistleblowers, Statistics, Whistleblower Rewards,

Second Circuit Upholds SEC Denial of Whistleblower Rewards to Three Claimants in Deutsche Bank Settlement

Posted 11/13/19

Disorganized paper records stacked on table

In May 2015, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay a $55 million penalty to the SEC to settle charges that its financial statements misreported the value of a portfolio of derivatives, failing to take account of the material risk of potential losses associated with the derivatives. Subsequently, in November 2017, the SEC announced that it had awarded whistleblower rewards totaling $16 million to two whistleblowers “whose...

Tagged in: Court Decision, Financial and Investment Fraud, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud,

In Second-Ever Enforcement Action of Its Kind, SEC Stands with Whistleblower Against Company’s Attempt to Muzzle Reporting

Posted 11/8/19

Imagine that, after you invest in a company, you start to smell a rat. After you try to alert other investors or report what you believe is a fraudulent scheme, the company you invested in draws up an agreement that conditions your shareholding on a prohibition on speaking with regulatory agencies. If it seems illegal, that’s because it is. Yet that’s exactly what online auction and memorabilia company Collectors...

Tagged in: Confidentiality and The Seal, Financial and Investment Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Whistleblower Eligibility, Whistleblower Protection Laws,

Media Round-Up: Our Whistleblower Lawyers in the Press

Posted 10/24/19

With whistleblowers continuing to dominate the headlines, lawyers from the Constantine Cannon whistleblower team have been published in and featured in a number of outlets. This week saw the following stories:

- Gordon Schnell and Max Voldman were published in FierceHealthcare, What’s Missing from the Debate about "Medicare for All"? Combating Billions in Healthcare Fraud. With Democratic candidates...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, Financial and Investment Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Whistleblower Eligibility,

Legislation Watch: Proposed Amendments to Bank Secrecy Act Include Whistleblower Rewards

Posted 10/23/19

Currently in the 116th Congress, both the House and Senate are considering bills that would amend existing law to provide a whistleblower reporting system and meaningful financial rewards to whistleblowers who come forward to the federal government to report unlawful money laundering and other violations of specified banking laws. We have previously written on the important benefits that would be available with...

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Legislation and Regulation News, Money Laundering,

How to Report Visa Fraud for a Whistleblower Reward

Posted 09/25/19

A settlement with India-based management consulting firm Mu Sigma shows how whistleblowers can make a difference in visa enforcement. In September, 2019, Mu Sigma agreed to pay the U.S. $2.5 million to settle claims that it evaded H-1B visa requirements and brought employees to the U.S. on B1 visitor visas, misrepresenting the nature of their intended employment. In announcing the settlement, Immigration and Customs...

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Financial and Investment Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud, Visa Fraud,

Deutsche Bank Pays More than $16M to Settle SEC Charges of FCPA Violations

Posted 08/30/19

Last week, the SEC announced that German-based banking giant Deutsche Bank agreed to pay more than $16 million to settle charges it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by hiring relatives of foreign officials in China and Russia to get investment banking business. See SEC Press Release. According to the SEC’s order, these so-called "referral hires" bypassed the bank's merit-based hiring process and...

Tagged in: FCPA, Importance of Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Eligibility, Whistleblower Rewards,

Catch of the Week — Yukom Communications and Others Face CFTC Claims of Binary Options Fraud

Posted 08/16/19

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed suit against five entities and four individuals on August 12, 2019, in the Northern District of Illinois for running a $103 million fraudulent binary options scheme. The defendants, led by Israeli company Yukom Communications Ltd.,which marketed binary options using two websites known as BinaryBook and BigOption. In recent years, the CFTC has targeted fraudulent binary...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Financial and Investment Fraud, Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, Market Manipulation and Trading Violations, Misrepresentations,

Question of the Week — Will Healthcare Settlements Continue to Dominate False Claims Act Recoveries?

Posted 07/24/19

Recent blockbuster settlements continue past trends: healthcare fraud has so far this year dominated FCA recoveries. During the first half of 2019, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) secured over $750 million in settlements from False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases. And just past the mid-year point, total recoveries have nearly doubled due to a $700 million civil settlement ($1.4 billion total) entered on July 11th...

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Programs Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Housing and Mortgage Fraud, Pharma Fraud,

Contact

Click here for a confidential contact or call:

SEC Whistleblower Program 2019 Annual Report Tells Story of Significant Impact - Despite Beginning the Year with a Government Shutdown

CFTC Whistleblower Program Annual Report Shows Program Open for Business, yet Challenges Persist

Second Circuit Upholds SEC Denial of Whistleblower Rewards to Three Claimants in Deutsche Bank Settlement

In Second-Ever Enforcement Action of Its Kind, SEC Stands with Whistleblower Against Company’s Attempt to Muzzle Reporting

Media Round-Up: Our Whistleblower Lawyers in the Press

Legislation Watch: Proposed Amendments to Bank Secrecy Act Include Whistleblower Rewards

How to Report Visa Fraud for a Whistleblower Reward

Deutsche Bank Pays More than $16M to Settle SEC Charges of FCPA Violations

Catch of the Week — Yukom Communications and Others Face CFTC Claims of Binary Options Fraud

Question of the Week — Will Healthcare Settlements Continue to Dominate False Claims Act Recoveries?

Newsletter

Subscribe to receive email updates from the Constantine Cannon blogs

Sign up for: