The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act established the SEC Whistleblower Program. This program offers whistleblowers employment protections, the option to report possible securities violations anonymously, and the potential for significant monetary awards.

You can be a whistleblower as an individual or as part of a group—and don’t even have to be an employee of the company in question. To be eligible for a monetary award, whistleblowers must voluntarily provide the SEC with original information about a possible violation of the federal securities laws.

Original information is information derived from the whistleblower’s independent knowledge or analysis, unknown to the SEC (unless the whistleblower is the original source of the information), and not obtained from the news or a judicial or government hearing, report, audit or investigation. In other words, if you provide the SEC with information it was unaware of, then you can become a valuable whistleblower.

A whistleblower may report any possible federal securities violations, including those that have already occurred, are ongoing, or are about to occur. Common types of securities violations include publishing corporate disclosures with the SEC that contain false and misleading statements, making false and misleading statements to the public, misrepresenting or omitting material information when offering new securities to the market, “pump and dump” market manipulation schemes, foreign bribery schemes, and insider trading.

KSF is a nationally recognized law firm with an extensive history of successfully prosecuting securities violations. Our attorneys can help you assess suspected securities fraud and develop a compelling case for the authorities.

Whistleblowers who successfully report securities law violations receive a substantial and mandatory reward if the SEC or other government authorities recover more than $1 million based on that information. Under the law, eligible whistleblowers are entitled to 10-30% of the monetary sanctions collected by the government in a successful enforcement action where the sanctions levied against the defendant company exceed $1 million.

Employers are also explicitly prohibited from terminating, suspending, demoting, threatening, harassing, or discriminating against whistleblowers who lawfully provide information to the SEC or assist with an SEC investigation or action. Whistleblowers who experience employment retaliation may be eligible to sue their employer for reinstatement, double back pay, and litigation expenses. KSF can help you navigate your potential employment retaliation claim.

The Dodd-Frank Act has strong whistleblower confidentiality provisions and allows whistleblowers to file claims anonymously when they are represented by counsel. The ability to remain anonymous can, in some cases, extend throughout the process and until it’s time to receive a reward payment. Our attorneys know that confidentiality is paramount for SEC whistleblowers and can assist you in making the most of those protections. If you have knowledge of corporate securities fraud and would like to discuss a potential whistleblower claim, contact our attorneys or submit a confidential and secure case evaluation form on this page for a free consultation.