In 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) whistleblower program was created as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consume Protection Act. The SEC’s whistleblower program requires the SEC to pay substantial monetary rewards to whistleblowers who disclose original information about violations of federal securities laws. The law incentivizes those with knowledge of fraud in the financial industry to blow the whistle and protect the public from illegal behavior.
Under the Dodd-Frank regulations, the SEC must maintain the whistleblower’s confidentiality while the investigation is ongoing. An experienced SEC whistleblower attorney can even make your initial submission to the SEC anonymous.
In order to be eligible for substantial monetary awards given to whistleblowers under the SEC’s program, you must give the SEC information in the form and manner required by the law. Because the law is complex, the SEC cautions that “[y]ou should read these procedures carefully because you need to follow them in order to be eligible for an award.” See 17 C.F.R. § 240.21F-8(a).
There are important time deadlines that must be met when claiming your SEC whistleblower’s award. In order to preserve your rights, we recommend contacting The Cochran Firm, D.C.’s experienced whistleblower lawyers as soon as possible.
There are a variety of requirements that must be met in order to receive a financial award under the SEC’s whistleblower program. These requirements include:
These requirements can be complicated. For instance, if you are under a preexisting duty to report securities law violations, you may not be providing information to the SEC “voluntarily.” Our SEC whistleblower legal teamcan explain these statutory requirements to you and analyze their impact based upon your unique situation and circumstances. You do not need to be an employee of a company for which you are reporting possible violations of the federal securities laws.
