ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Tips for Whistleblowers
What the Securities Regulators Look For
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) needs your help in tracking down securities fraud. Whistleblowers bring useful information to the SEC that can lead to investigation and prosecution – and a possible reward for the whistleblower. Since the SEC opened its whistleblower office in 2010 over $162 million has been paid out in whistleblower awards. The range for awards is between 10% and 30% of the money collected by the SEC. Importantly, that reward money does not come out of recovery for defrauded investors; rewards are paid from a Congressionally authorized fund that encourages citizen support of SEC enforcement through whistleblowing. If you or a loved one has credible information of securities fraud, call the experienced California whistleblower and securities fraud attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. today at (415)441-8669, and we can help.
Let’s say you’re aware of suspicious securities activity. What should you do? Come forward with it. Seek out the help of a professional to guide you through the process. Your counselor (and the SEC) will tell you that to proceed with a whistleblower case you must provide specific, timely, and credible original information, not just a general “hunch” about someone you “think” is committing securities fraud. That does not give SEC investigators much to go on – even if your suspicions are right – and you might never hear back from them let alone ever collect a reward for your efforts. Investigators need specific examples, details, and transactions to examine. Documentation of those transactions is also critical.
The more documented specifics you can provide, the better. You never know what information may be the first – or final! – piece of the puzzle to a much broader investigation. Moreover, what may seem small or insignificant to you might be critical to an investigator. The California whistleblower and securities attorneys at Evans Law Firm know what to look for as they review the evidence you present. Bottom line is, you may very well be on to something but it needs to be specific and credible and organized if it’s to help the SEC – and end up in a reward for you. One last word of caution – the process takes time, often several years. But a good professional can keep it on track and the rewards can be big.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one has been a victim of securities fraud or has a question regarding Securities and Exchange Commission whistleblower submissions, contact California whistleblower and securities fraud attorney Ingrid Evans and the other attorney at the 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 whistleblower cases, complicated financial instruments and contracts and large investment firms and insurance companies. We can help guide your case through SEC investigation, a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, other types of qui tam and whistleblower cases, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
