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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,

Catch of the Week: SEC Cracks Down Again on Cybersecurity Disclosures

Posted 06/17/21

hacker in hoodie typing code in program using laptop in dark studio

This week’s Catch of the Week goes to the Securities and Exchange Commission for its latest settlement involving cybersecurity risks. The SEC charged First American Financial Corporation, an insurance company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with failing to adequately control for cybersecurity risks. According to the SEC’s Order, a journalist alerted First American that it had a major vulnerability in...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Cybersecurity and Data Breaches, Financial Institution Fraud, Securities Fraud,

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,

DOJ Lowers The Boom On COVID-19 Healthcare Scams, Again

Posted 05/28/21

Hey, fraudsters, did you hear? There was a global pandemic, so the government pumped trillions of dollars into the economy. Probably a good time to get a piece of the cut, you ask? They’ll never find out, right? So many ways to grift! Well, not so much. From the start, the cops on the beat, led by the United States Department of Justice, have screamed from the rooftops: “Don’t do it. We WILL...

Tagged in: COVID-19, Criminal Proceedings, FCA Federal, Financial and Investment Fraud, Government Programs Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Laboratory and IDTF, Lack of Medical Necessity, Market Manipulation and Trading Violations, Medical Billing Fraud, Misrepresentations, Pharma Fraud, Securities Fraud,

Constantine Cannon Client Receives Maximum Award for Blowing the Whistle on ITG

Posted 05/21/21

The SEC has made a multi-million-dollar award to a Constantine Cannon client whose original information and assistance led to an enforcement action against the brokerage firm ITG. The award—30% of the recovery—is the maximum allowed under the SEC Whistleblower Program. The SEC has taken three enforcement actions against ITG in recent years, two of which involve ITG’s dark pool POSIT. POSIT is an alternate...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, Dark Pools, Importance of Whistleblowers, Market Manipulation and Trading Violations, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

How will regulators respond to Bitcoin’s price fluctuations?

Posted 05/18/21

The price of Bitcoin—never stable—has become even more erratic in the last month. From April 17 to May 17, the price fell 26%. Such a huge drop would be noteworthy in a stock investment. But in something claiming to be a currency, that kind of instability is normally only seen in times of crisis and hyperinflation. Coming just as cryptocurrencies are making a play to be considered mainstream, this latest...

Tagged in: Cryptocurrency, Financial and Investment Fraud, Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, Insider Trading, Market Manipulation and Trading Violations, Ponzi Schemes, Securities Fraud,

Partner Mary Inman joins Shaifali Joshi-Clark of the Ontario Securities Commission’s Whistleblower Office to discuss the OSC’s whistleblower reward program at Whistleblowing Canada Research Society event “The Expansion of Whistleblower Reward Programs in the U.S., Canada and Globally.”

Posted 04/30/21

On March 17, 2021, Constantine Cannon whistleblower partner Mary Inman joined Shaifali Joshi-Clark, a senior forensic accountant in the Whistleblower Office of the Ontario Securities Commission (“OSC”), as a co-panellist for a webinar entitled “The Expansion of Whistleblower Reward Programs in the U.S., Canada and Globally,” organised by Whistleblowing Canada Research Society (“WCRS”) and moderated by...

Tagged in: CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, FCA Federal, International Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud, Whistleblower Rewards,

When the Deli’s Not Just a Deli

Posted 04/28/21

A market mystery recently caught the attention of financial journalists and the public more generally: a New Jersey deli that is seemingly never open and reports minimal profits is—on paper at least—worth $100 million after issuing public shares. The shareholders are few, and mostly in China. The owners are local (the revered wrestling coach) and not (a father-son investor duo with a history of shady...

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Insider Trading, Money Laundering, Securities Fraud,

Jane Norberg Steps Down After Landmark Run As SEC Whistleblower Chief

Posted 04/16/21

Securities and Exchange Commission Decisions and Reports Book Volumes

Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC's Office of the Whistleblower, will step down this month after five groundbreaking years. Norberg played a pivotal role in shaping the SEC Whistleblower Program into a model for how empowering whistleblowers can revolutionize government enforcement. Her tenure brought record payouts to whistleblowers, a streamlined award process, and a firm stand against any attacks on the public’s...

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

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Flood of SEC Whistleblower Awards Continues

Catch of the Week: SEC Cracks Down Again on Cybersecurity Disclosures

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

DOJ Lowers The Boom On COVID-19 Healthcare Scams, Again

Constantine Cannon Client Receives Maximum Award for Blowing the Whistle on ITG

How will regulators respond to Bitcoin’s price fluctuations?

Partner Mary Inman joins Shaifali Joshi-Clark of the Ontario Securities Commission’s Whistleblower Office to discuss the OSC’s whistleblower reward program at Whistleblowing Canada Research Society event “The Expansion of Whistleblower Reward Programs in the U.S., Canada and Globally.”

When the Deli’s Not Just a Deli

Jane Norberg Steps Down After Landmark Run As SEC Whistleblower Chief

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