In our last post, we reviewed the basics of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), also called “blank check companies,” to understand why the Securities and Exchange Commission is so concerned about SPACs. This form of investment that wasn’t even on people’s radar a decade ago is now an SEC enforcement…
A “blank check company,” more formally known as a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), was virtually unheard of ten years ago. However, as fewer companies have been able to launch initial public offerings (IPOs) on their own, SPACs skyrocketed in popularity. By 2020, half of all IPOs were tied to…
Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act on July 21, 2010, in response to the SEC’s failure to identify several Ponzi schemes and other securities fraud that had bilked investors out of billions of dollars and adversely affected the U.S. economy. The Act included provisions to protect whistleblowers who report securities law…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has explained that “as investor demand for climate and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information soars, the SEC is responding with an all-agency approach” that reflects the risks and opportunities of ESG and climate investing. The agency is putting its policies into practice…
If you work in any area of commodity futures trading and see or know of wrongdoing within your industry, you could receive a substantial reward for your information. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has a whistleblower program for commodity trade insiders who can provide material evidence or testimony of…
The SEC’s recent press release about streaming company Gaia’s activities focuses on both securities violations and whistleblower retaliation. The company terminated one employee for reporting lower subscriber rates both internally and to the SEC. When Gaia began laying off employees later, it also required 23 other employees to sign severance…
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…