In a case of first impression within the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the whistleblower protection provision in Dodd-Frank protects whistleblowers who report...more
As discussed in a Law360 article by Ed Beeson, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals will decide in Stryker v. SEC, No. 13-cv-4404, whether the SEC needs to pay Dodd-Frank whistleblower bounties to tipsters who provided...more
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the Obama administration will seek to remove the $1.6 million cap on rewards to whistleblowers who provide evidence of criminal conduct by financial executives under the 1989 Financial...more
The SEC recently issued an Order against Paradigm Capital Management, Inc. (Paradigm), a registered investment adviser, and its principal for allegedly engaging in principal trades without effective client disclosure and...more
Last month, after an individual filed 196 award applications, the SEC Office of the Whistleblower (OWB) issued a detailed Final Order deeming him/her ineligible for an award in any of his/her pending applications and...more
On June 3, 2014, the SEC issued an order that awarded two whistleblowers $437,500 each pursuant to Rule 21F of the Securities Exchange Act. This Order marks the SEC’s first award of 2014, and eighth award since the program...more
In a first-impression decision, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska recently ruled that an employee who disclosed information about potential securities law violations to FINRA may qualify as a...more
The SEC Office of the Whistleblower recently announced that the first-ever whistleblower award under the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program will be increased by $150,000 based on additional assets the SEC collected from one the...more
As we previously discussed, courts have struggled with determining the scope of the protections in Dodd-Frank’s anti-retaliation provisions. On the one hand, Dodd-Frank defines a “whistleblower” as any individual, or group of...more
On March 5, 2014, a California jury awarded $6 million to a former accounting executive at Playboy Enterprises Inc. (the “Company”), finding that the Company discharged the former employee in violation of Section 806 of SOX....more
On November 19, 2013, we reported on a record-breaking $14 million whistleblower bounty payout by the SEC. Earlier today, the Wall Street Journal reported that this award arose from an alleged “Chicago-based scheme to defraud...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published (for public comment) a draft strategic plan, which sets forth its goals and objectives for fiscal years 2014 through 2018. The SEC’s “strategic objectives” include:...more
In a SOX whistleblower case of first impression, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that front pay may be ordered in lieu of reinstatement. However, the court ultimately determined that front...more
On October 30, 2013, the SEC announced that it rendered a $150K award to an anonymous whistleblower whose tips allegedly helped thwart a scheme to defraud investors. The bounty equals 30% of the proceeds the SEC collected in...more
The SEC’s whistleblower program has received tremendous attention, but let’s not forget about the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) whistleblower program, which also was created by Dodd-Frank. A recent article...more
On September 30, 2013, the last day of the fiscal year, the SEC awarded more than $14 million to a tipster who provided details that led to a substantial recovery of investments in an enforcement action. Though only the third...more
Stephen Cohen, Associate Director in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Enforcement Division, recently advised companies being investigated to flaunt their compliance programs to the agency, according to an...more
After awarding the second-ever whistleblower bounty award pursuant to Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) in connection with SEC v. Andrey C. Hicks and Locust Offshore...more
A recent Wall Street Journal article (subscription required) quoted Michele Wein Layne, Regional Director of the LA office of the SEC, when she addressed the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower Bounty Program at the American...more
On June 12, 2013, the SEC issued the second-ever whistleblower bounty award pursuant to Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) in connection with SEC v. Andrey C. Hicks and...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado followed a trend of decisions concluding that a plaintiff need not have provided the SEC with information regarding alleged federal securities law violations to pursue a...more
In Wiest v. Lynch, No. 11-cv-4257, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 5345 (3d Cir. March 19, 2013), the Third Circuit gave Chevron deference to U.S. Department of Labor Administrative Review Board’s (ARB) interpretation of “protected...more
During discovery in an SEC administrative and cease-and-desist proceeding instituted in December 2012 (pursuant to Sections 9(b) and 9(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940)[1] the SEC Division of Enforcement (DOE)...more
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that a SOX whistleblower complaint survived a Rule 12(b)(6) challenge on “reasonable belief” grounds and found that complaints of potential future...more
2/18/2013
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Bonuses ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Fraud ,
Internal Controls ,
Playboy ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Split of Authority ,
Termination ,
Whistleblowers
On January 18, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its report titled Evaluation of the SEC’s Whistleblower Program. The report presented a largely positive review of...more