As reported in the Wall Street Journal, employees of tech companies in Silicon Valley and elsewhere are increasingly coming forward to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These employees-turned-SEC whistleblowers are explaining how their companies are overpromising and underdelivering or otherwise violating the federal securities laws. In some cases, SEC…
In recent years, many investors have been looking for new ways to invest. One way funds have been doing that is by pooling a type of asset or debt into an investment fund. Ownership of the pool is sold as shares, with profits to be allocated between the shareholders if…
The SEC recently announced two amendments to their Whistleblower program rules that will make coming forward a little more lucrative for interested individuals. The first amendment to Rule 21F-3 allows the SEC to pay bounties to whistleblowers for actions brought by other federal agencies. This is particularly helpful when the…
Once again, two SEC whistleblowers will receive bounties through the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, following a successful enforcement action. The first SEC whistleblower receives $13 million after voluntarily providing information that initiated the investigation. They notified SEC staff of the firm’s “abusive practices” for several years prior to the…
In this blog, we often discuss the financial bounties that whistleblowers receive from the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and occasionally, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC.) What isn’t always discussed is the time and effort that it takes for a whistleblower to get to that point. Recently the…
Scott Silver and David Chase were selected as top-rated securities litigation attorneys by Super Lawyers for 2022. Scott received the same award in 2021, and was previously selected for Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars list. David Chase was selected to Super Lawyers for years 2006-2007, 2009-2019, and 2021-2022. Scott and David…
In a recent press release, the SEC announced that it has awarded an individual a bounty of $17 million for their assistance as a whistleblower. The individual provided information that led to the SEC opening an investigation. Additionally, the individual gave continued assistance to SEC staff, speaking with them on…
In a recent press release, the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the award of more than $6M in bounties in two separate orders. Both orders involve providing information to the SEC for two covered actions. In the first order, the whistleblower was described as an “outside professional” who…
Corporate regulations are nothing new. After the stock market crashed in 1929, plunging the U.S. into the Great Depression, federal regulation of corporate disclosures began. With the passage of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Congress attempted to make public companies more transparent about their financial…
As Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) have become increasingly popular were being featured in the news, in recent months, there have been high-profile cases of fraud that have been equally noteworthy. And looking at a few of these is useful for those becoming SPAC whistleblowers—to understand the legal issues some…