SEC Whistleblower Reward Program

SEC pays $325K whistleblower award but warns it could have been more

Yesterday, the SEC sent a message, and it wasn’t subtle: speed counts. The agency announced it was making a $325,000 award to the 22^nd whistleblower to receive an award under the SEC’s whistleblower program since its inception in 2011.  But its press release also stressed that “the award could have been higher” had the whistleblower not “hesitated” to bring his or her information to the Commission. The...

In Their Own Words — McKessy

-- “This award recognizes the value of the information and assistance provided by the whistleblower while underscoring the need for whistleblowers to report information to the agency expeditiously.”

Sean X. McKessy, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, announcing a $325,000 Whistleblower Award to Whistleblower who’s information led to a successful SEC enforcement action against an investment firm. ...

Whistleblower Showdown Heads to Supreme Court

By Eric Havian (published on CFO.com) A recent decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York has staged a showdown for the Supreme Court to decide what protections whistleblowers should receive when they report illegal activity internally and an employer retaliates as a result. However the Supreme Court decides, corporate officers should take a deep breath and think about the impact of the positions...

SEC Pays Whistleblower Award of More than $3 Million

On July 17^th, the SEC announced its 18^th whistleblower award since the program’s inception – this one for over $3 million, the third highest to date.  This puts the award total at over $50 million. Due to the agency’s commitment to whistleblower confidentiality, the SEC’s press release was slim on details of the fraud or the whistleblower.  However, the SEC took the award as an opportunity to praise...

Celebrating The First Five Years Of Dodd-Frank

By Marlene Koury July 21, 2015 will mark the fifth anniversary of the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act – one of the most celebrated and maligned pieces of legislation in recent times, not to mention the most significant whistleblower law enacted since the False Claims Act.  The statute has done wonders in forcing Wall Street to clean up its act and has been responsible for extracting large penalties from public...

SEC Chair Gives Big Shout Out for Whistleblowers

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="288"] Photo Credit: sec.gov[/caption] By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Yesterday, SEC Chair Mary Jo White spoke at Northwestern University Law School on the invaluable role of the corporate whistleblower and the still burgeoning SEC whistleblower program that she describes as a "game changer" for government enforcement.  Here is her summary of the program's many...

In Their Own Words -- McKessy

-- The SEC will protect whistleblowers “against retaliatory conduct and make significant financial awards to whistleblowers who suffer employment hardships as a result of reporting possible securities law violations.”

Sean McKessy, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, in a statement regarding the SEC’s first award to a whistleblower for retaliation.  Click here for more.