The SEC announced an award of $279 million to an individual for substantial assistance in an enforcement action. It’s the largest award in the history of the SEC’s Whistleblower program. The previous record for an award was made in October of 2020, when a whistleblower received $114 million. While the…
In a recent press release, the SEC announced the award of $12 million to two whistleblowers who assisted in an enforcement action against a registered broker-dealer involved in wrongdoing. The first whistleblower received a $9 million bounty after providing a tip that led to the SEC’s investigation. Without this information,…
Although we most frequently blog about the SEC and its whistleblower program, other federal agencies also have their own. One of those agencies is the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which oversees all types of futures markets. This independent agency governs derivative markets, which includes futures, swaps, and some…
Following their 2021 appearance, SEC whistleblower attorneys Scott Silver and David Chase were invited back to the ‘Cut To The Chase’ legal podcast to discuss SEC whistleblower program updates and the relevance of the program in recent news, including the collapse of FTX. ‘Cut To The Chase’ is hosted by…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Whistleblower Program passed the $1 billion mark of awards in September of 2021. To mark the occasion, SEC Chair Gary Gensler discussed the significance of this milestone in an official SEC YouTube video. At the time, the SEC had paid out bounties of $1,074,010,519.76…
The SEC recently announced that it has awarded a bounty of more than $28 million to “joint whistleblowers” who offered information and assisted in a successful enforcement action. The order indicated that there were four individuals, who will each receive 25% of the total, or roughly $7 million each. The…
After another successful enforcement action, the SEC has awarded $18 million to three whistleblowers who each contributed vital information. SEC whistleblower #1 alerted the SEC that the entity was engaging in fraudulent activity. They offered valuable information that led to the SEC’s investigation into a “fraudulent scheme.” Additionally, they provided…
Traditionally, a “hedge” is a fence or other boundary that protects one’s property. When someone “hedges their bet,” they avoid committing themselves to one specific decision—by putting something else out as a possibility. And then, of course, a hedge is an asset someone holds to protect oneself against a financial…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commission issued a new bulletin educating investors about performance claims. And this new bulletin is a good reminder to analyze performance claims on two separate but equally significant bases: How is the performance calculated and presented? How reliable is the performance claim? How is…
Mutual funds are required to use a standard methodology to calculate their performance. But there’s no such requirement for hedge funds. That’s because hedge funds frequently invest in illiquid or otherwise difficult-to-value securities. However, that doesn’t mean hedge funds have a green light to misreport their valuations or prices. They…