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Posts Tagged ‘SEC whistleblower award’
Payment of First SEC Whistleblower Award Imminent
Friday, June 8th, 2012
Ever since it was born out of the passage of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill in 2010, all eyes have been on the success or failure of the SEC’s Whistleblower Program. Since the program officially went into effect in August 2011, the SEC reports that they have been continually receiving high quality tips at an impressive pace of roughly seven per day. As a result, the fact that, according to insiders, the first payment of an award appears to be imminent, there is a veritable spotlight on the Commission and the award determination process.
In responding to the rumors of a pending award, Sean McKessey, Chief of the SEC Whistleblower Office, has continued to express his enthusiasm for the program and the importance of actually making that first payment. In an article published on Huffington Post, McKessey stated “I view [the program] as already having been a very significant success, but I understand that people want to see the deliverable. And the deliverable, in our view, is paying people for good information…[t]he more the better, obviously.” Further,
As we await official confirmation of the first award payment, the SEC is reminding people that the amount of the award to those who come forward remains subjective, and that the sanctions ultimately imposed against a company must exceed $1 million before they are even eligible for an award. Specifically, at a conference earlier this week, Jane Norberg, deputy chief for the SEC’s Whistleblower Office, told attendees that although there is “no hard and fast formula [in making an award determination] at this point…it is in the SEC’s sole discretion as to how much of an award there is – whether it is 10% or 30% or somewhere in between.”
In an era where the importance of corporate accountability is reaching new heights, the first award from the SEC will undoubtedly send a strong signal. “I think it will be an affirmation that this will not just be a paper program, that we’re not just going out and making speeches,” McKessey said.
Source: The Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/sec-whistleblower-reward-payout_n_1560044.html?ref=tw
Tags: corporate fraud, reward, SEC, SEC whistleblower award, SEC Whistleblower Program
Posted in corporate fraud, Recent News, SEC Whistleblower Program | Comments Off
SEC Delays Whistleblower Rules
Thursday, April 28th, 2011
SEC wants to "get it right."
The SEC has postponed adoption of rules for its whistleblower program. According to the Dodd-Frank Act, final regulations for the whistleblower program were to be adopted by the SEC no later than April 21, 2011. Earlier this week, the SEC announced on its website that it is planning to adopt new rules some time between May and end of July. SEC spokesperson John Nester did not provide any specifics about the delay, commenting only that the SEC was crafting all the new rules for Dodd-Frank with an emphasis on “getting it right.”
The financial industry needs an effective fast-track incentive program for whistleblowers. The Dodd-Frank program augments the SEC’s 40 year old insider trading reward program that never realized its potential as a decentralized fraud enforcement mechanism. The SEC, under the old insider trading program, only paid out awards to whistleblowers four times. SEC watchers generally discount the insider trading program and are skeptical about the SEC’s interest in working with whistleblowers in general.
The new Dodd-Frank whistleblower program has generated considerable interest among would be whistleblowers and large companies. Frustrated employees and fraud fighters are delighted to have another program that incentivizes whistleblowers; large companies criticize the program because it encourages whistleblowers to report fraud directly to the government, bypassing internal corporate compliance procedures.
Whistleblowers could file SEC claims for rewards under the Dodd-Frank Act as of last July but will be expected to comply with the new rules once the new rules are adopted. Kenney & McCafferty, P.C. is happy to assist you in assessing your potential SEC whistleblower claim. Call K&M for a free consultation today
Tags: bank fraud award, banking whistleblower, banking whistleblower award, corporate fraud, corporate fraud whistleblower, corporate whistleblower award, finance industry fraud, market fraud, market fraud whistleblower, market whistleblower award, mortgage fraud, mortgage fraud whistleblower, mortgage whistleblower award, Sarbanes Oxley award, Sarbanes Oxley violation, Sarbanes Oxley whistleblower, Sarbanes Oxley whistleblower award, SEC whistleblower, SEC whistleblower award, SEC Whistleblower Program, SEC whistleblower reward, securities violations, securities violations reward, securities whistleblower, securities whistleblower award, SOX retaliation, SOX whistleblower, SOX whistleblower award, whistleblower
Posted in retaliation, SEC Whistleblower Program, Uncategorized, Whistleblower Protection | Comments Off
