ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Securities and Exchange Commission Rewards Whistleblowers
Any Securities Fraud Can Be The Basis of a Whistleblower Case
Over $396 Million Awarded Since SEC Whistleblower Program Began
Last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced two whistleblower awards in connection with multiple enforcement actions against several companies and individuals allegedly conspiring together in a fraudulent scheme against investors. See Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) Rule 21F4(d), 17 C.F.R. § 240.21F-4(d)(2). Whistleblowers may be eligible for an award whenever they voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action. Whistleblower awards range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million. If you have credible, original information of securities fraud in California call our California SEC whistleblower attorneys today at (415)441-8669 and we can help.
“The whistleblowers in this matter played a critical role in the investigation and helped the agency bring antifraud charges that halted ongoing conduct,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “The substantially higher award granted to the first whistleblower demonstrates the importance of providing information early in the investigation and the benefit to whistleblowers where the information leads to multiple enforcement actions.” The SEC has awarded over $396 million to individuals since issuing its first award in 2012. All payments are made out of an investor protection fund established by Congress that is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. No money has been taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards.
Retaliation Protections
Federal law protects whistleblowers from employer retaliation for blowing the whistle on securities fraud under the Exchange Act, the Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. §§ 77a et seq, Rule 10b-5, or any other federal securities law. See 15 U.S.C. § 78u-6(h)(1); 17 CFR § 240.21F-2; Commission Rule 21F-17(a). If your employer retaliates against you in violation of the statute, you can bring an action in federal court seeking reinstatement, double back pay with interest, and attorneys’ fees and costs. 15 U.S.C. § 78u-6(h)(1)(B) and (C). Our litigators can represent you in your action for wrongful retaliation as well as in your underlying SEC whistleblower case.
Contact Us
Ingrid M. Evans and the other whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm know how best to organize your information and documentation and will guide you through investigation, reporting, and discovery to trial or settlement. Our California whistleblower attorneys handle all types of whistleblower cases in addition to SEC cases. If you have information regarding a whistleblower/qui tam case in San Francisco or elsewhere in California involving allegations under the federal or California False Claims Acts, the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), the Bank Secrecy Act, the Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Office, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Office, the FINRA Whistleblower Office or other government agency whistleblower programs, contact the California whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys also have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through filing a complaint, investigation and discovery through trial or an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
