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Whistleblower Reveals Facebook’s Lies: Will the SEC or Congress Act to Curtail Threats to Democracy and Teens from Social Media?

Posted 10/1/21

For anyone who cares about the future of liberal democracy, improving the mental health and well-being of children, ending the COVID-19 pandemic, or stopping drug cartels and human trafficking, the recent series in The Wall Street Journal titled “The Facebook Files” is a must-read. Based on a trove of internal documents shared by a Facebook whistleblower, as well as interviews with numerous current and former...

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

A Billion in the Bank and Still No End In Sight For SEC’s Warm Embrace of Whistleblowers

Posted 10/1/21

It has been only two weeks since the SEC passed the billion dollar mark in whistleblower awards under the agency's Whistleblower Program. By all accounts, there will be no end to the cavalcade of awards that brought us to this landmark event. Starting with the whistleblower payout that brought the total awards tally past the 10-figure threshold. It was a blockbuster $110 million award, the second largest to...

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

SEC Awards $114 Million to Two Whistleblowers, Including an Apparent Outsider, Passing the $1 Billion Mark with a Bang

Posted 09/16/21

The SEC announced $114 million in whistleblower awards to two unnamed individuals whose information substantially contributed to an SEC enforcement action and two related actions by other enforcement agencies. With this award, the SEC can say it has issued more than $1 billion in awards to whistleblowers – truly, a milestone worth celebrating. As is typical with SEC press releases about whistleblower awards,...

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

SEC Whistleblower Program Summer Roundup - Nearing the Billion Dollar Mark

Posted 09/9/21

For the SEC Whistleblower Program, it was business as usual this summer. With total awards of more than $50 million to 25 whistleblowers, the agency moved ever closer to the billion dollar mark. Here is how it played out for the SEC program over the not so lazy days of summer:

June 2 – $23 million (2 whistleblowers)
June 14 – $3 million (2 whistleblowers)
June 21 – $5.3 million (4...

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

Federal Court Confirms That Outsiders Can Be SEC Whistleblower Too

Posted 07/30/21

What does it mean to be a “whistleblower”? Often, people think of corporate or government employees with access to secret information that’s not visible from the outside. A classic example is Daniel Ellsberg. Working as a military analyst for the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg accessed and leaked an explosive Top Secret study of U.S. activities in the Vietnam War. But the U.S. whistleblower award programs...

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

In Defense of Whistleblowers: Poppy Alexander Appears on Law & Disorder Podcast

Posted 07/13/21

Constantine Cannon whistleblower attorney Poppy Alexander was interviewed as a featured guest on the Law & Disorder podcast. In an interview with Heidi Boghosian, Poppy discussed the False Claims Act, including its rewards and protections for whistleblowers. The FCA allows private persons, known as relators, to bring what are called qui tam lawsuits on the government’s behalf, and claim a share of any recovery...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program,

SEC Cracks Down Again on Companies Chilling Whistleblowers from Reporting Wrongdoing

Posted 07/2/21

A company’s restrictive compliance manual and training materials ran afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Rule 21F-17(a), prohibiting actions restricting, impeding, or discouraging whistleblowers from directly reporting wrongdoing to the Commission. In its settlement against New York broker-dealer Guggenheim Securities, LLC (Guggenheim), the SEC not only censured Guggenheim but also hit it...

Tagged in: SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud, Whistleblower Protection Laws, Whistleblower Rewards,

Flood of SEC Whistleblower Awards Continues

Posted 06/17/21

It has been less than two months since SEC Whistleblower Chief Jane Norberg left the agency for private practice. As we previously wrote, her five years running the agency's Whistleblower Program were groundbreaking in the number and amount of awards the SEC made and in the agency's efforts to champion the critical role whistleblowers play within the SEC enforcement regime. As we also wrote at the time, the SEC...

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

Whistleblowers Without Borders: International Whistleblowers are Increasingly Important Contributors of Tips to the SEC Whistleblower Reward Program

Posted 06/11/21

On March 4, 2021, the SEC announced an award of over $5 million to joint foreign whistleblowers whose tip, providing significant information about misconduct abroad, caused the opening of an investigation that resulted in a successful SEC enforcement action. According to Jane Norberg, former Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, “The whistleblowers’ information alerted the staff to misconduct...

Tagged in: Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud, Whistleblower Eligibility, Whistleblower Rewards,

Catch of the Week: Second Conspirator Pleads Guilty in Jay Peak EB-5 Fraud Case

Posted 06/4/21

William Kelly pleaded guilty to two felony charges in connection with EB-5 securities fraud in the development of the Jay Peak Biomedical Research Park, also called the AnC Vermont project. Kelly, who served as the chief operating officer for the project, was a long-time advisor to project owner Ariel Quiros, who previously pleaded guilty to related charges. Co-defendant William Stenger, the project’s CEO, pleaded...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Criminal Proceedings, Financial and Investment Fraud, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Visa Fraud,

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Whistleblower Reveals Facebook’s Lies: Will the SEC or Congress Act to Curtail Threats to Democracy and Teens from Social Media?

A Billion in the Bank and Still No End In Sight For SEC’s Warm Embrace of Whistleblowers

SEC Awards $114 Million to Two Whistleblowers, Including an Apparent Outsider, Passing the $1 Billion Mark with a Bang

SEC Whistleblower Program Summer Roundup - Nearing the Billion Dollar Mark

Federal Court Confirms That Outsiders Can Be SEC Whistleblower Too

In Defense of Whistleblowers: Poppy Alexander Appears on Law & Disorder Podcast

SEC Cracks Down Again on Companies Chilling Whistleblowers from Reporting Wrongdoing

Flood of SEC Whistleblower Awards Continues

Whistleblowers Without Borders: International Whistleblowers are Increasingly Important Contributors of Tips to the SEC Whistleblower Reward Program

Catch of the Week: Second Conspirator Pleads Guilty in Jay Peak EB-5 Fraud Case

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