ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
On Wednesday, September 17, 2014 at the New York University School of Law, Attorney General Holder proposed an increase in rewards to Wall Street whistleblowers who report financial fraud. His proposal involved providing incentives for witness cooperation in the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) to facilitate investigations into financial fraud crimes. Unlike other whistleblower claims, financial fraud crimes are not covered under the Securities Exchange Commission or the False Claims Act.
FIRREA provides rewards to whistleblowers who report evidence of financial fraud. Wall Street Whistleblowers who report financial fraud can be rewarded up to $1.6 million. This may seem like a big sum, yet when looking at figures within the finance industry, executive pay is $15 million and increasing, and the bonus pool amount exceeds $26 billion. In light of these figures, $1.6 million is a small amount to executive whistleblowers. By increasing the $1.6 million limitation, Attorney General Holder hopes it will urge more executive whistleblowers to come forth and report financial fraud crimes.
Like any other whistleblower, executives who report financial fraud within major companies and against higher-ranked individuals risk their jobs and livelihoods. Yet, without these whistleblowers, large companies can and will commit financial fraud at the expense of our nation’s economy. Whistleblowers, after all, are the main source of any fraud and misconduct in any company or business.
Attorney General Holder further urges holding the individual at fault accountable – not just the company itself. In fact, it is likely that eventually, individuals who commit financial crimes will be criminally prosecuted. These proposals are designed to deter individuals from committing financial crimes.
The Evans Law Firm, Inc. handles qui tam (whistleblower/false claim) lawsuits, employment and retaliation litigation, banking and insurance fraud, consumer class action fraud, and personal injury. If you or anyone you know has been a victim of any of the above, contact the Evans Law Firm, Inc. for a free and confidential consultation at 415-441-8669 or by email at info@evanslaw.com
