ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program
Futures and derivatives trading played a major part in this country’s financial crisis of 2008. Some of that trading was based on misrepresentations and fraud. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversees futures, options, currency and derivatives trading in the United States and is charged with enforcement of regulations governing sales and trades of those instruments. After the 2008 crisis, Congress added a CFTC whistleblower reward program in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) so that private individuals could initiate private enforcement actions as whistleblowers.
CFTC whistleblower cases increased dramatically last year and whistleblowers racked up awards totaling $45.5 million for the year. The California and San Francisco securities whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent whistleblowers in CFTC cases and know how best to organize your information and documentation for your whistleblower application and can guide your application from initial submission through investigation and discovery to trial or settlement. If you have credible information of securities fraud in California call us today at (415)441-8669 and we can help. Our whistleblower attorneys also represent whistleblowers in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cases for securities fraud and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cases for tax fraud, particularly offshore tax avoidance schemes.
More and more people are realizing the potential benefits of reporting wrongdoing to the CFTC. Recently reported cases include such activities as virtual currency (Bitcoin, etc.) trading, spoofing (disruptive algorithmic trading that manipulates commodity prices), market manipulation, false reporting, misrepresentations to customers regarding management of their accounts, fraud involving foreign currencies, Ponzi schemes, and other off-exchange investment scams involving futures. If you have hard evidence of any such schemes or other illegal activity regarding commodities, futures or derivatives trades, seek qualified counsel such as the California whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. and we can help. Always seek the help of counsel as the rules for reporting tips are strict and you do not want to jeopardize your chances of a reward by simply calling in your tip.
Protection Against Retaliation
If you are an employee with information of a fraud, Dodd-Frank also broadened prohibitions against employer retaliation aimed at whistleblowers. The CFTC and SEC can take legal action against retaliating employers. Dodd-Frank also created a private right of action that gives whistleblowers the right to file a retaliation complaint against an employer in federal court. This means that if you are a whistleblower who has reported a possible securities law violation and believe you have been retaliated against because of your report, you may be able to sue your employer in federal court and seek double back pay (with interest), reinstatement, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and reimbursement for certain costs in connection with the litigation. The whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. can represent you in any federal court action for retaliation as well as represent you in your underlying whistleblower application.
Contact Us
If you or someone you love has information regarding a whistleblower/qui tam case in San Francisco or elsewhere in California involving the Commodities Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Progem, the Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Program, False Claims Act cases, the Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Office, or the FINRA Whistleblower Office or other illegal activity, 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 have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
