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In our previous post, we reviewed the major provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA), an expansion of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). We also started tackling the enforcement priorities of the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the agency most responsible for anti-money laundering enforcement. Now that we have a sense of what AMLA is about and what prosecutors are focused on, we’ll look at how it expands the pool of eligible whistleblowers and the compensation they might receive. In December 2022, Congress amended the AMLA whistleblower program of 2020 with the intention of better aligning the AMLA program with successful whistleblower programs at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Given the breadth of its statutory reach and the unique characteristics of its whistleblowing program, AMLA goes beyond both of those programs, however—and has the potential to become the most important whistleblowing program in the U.S.In our previous post, we reviewed the major provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA), an expansion of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). We also started tackling the enforcement priorities of the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the agency most responsible for anti-money laundering enforcement. Now that we have a sense of what AMLA is about and what prosecutors are focused on, we’ll look at how it expands the pool of eligible whistleblowers and the compensation they might receive. Continue reading

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On January 1, 2021, overriding a veto by then-President Trump, the Senate passed into law the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA)—the largest anti-money laundering legislative effort since the 2001 Patriot Act. The AMLA fortified existing laws, such as the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), as well as a somewhat anemic whistleblowing program, to align it more closely with the highly-successful Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whistleblower program. The result is that the amended AMLA’s enforcement reach is now much broader than the SEC’s program. Industry watchers predict the new whistleblowing program may have seismic repercussions throughout the financial world. In this post, we’ll review some of AMLA’s key points, while in the next two, we’ll focus on how AMLA impacts whistleblowing—who is eligible, what are the possible awards, and how whistleblowers can identify the kinds of tips that are likely to earn an AMLA award. On January 1, 2021, overriding a veto by then-President Trump, the Senate passed into law the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA)—the largest anti-money laundering legislative effort since the 2001 Patriot Act. The AMLA fortified existing laws, such as the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), as well as a somewhat anemic whistleblowing program, to align it more closely with the highly-successful Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whistleblower program. Continue reading

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The rash of cryptocurrency failures, cybersecurity failings, and potential for money laundering are a focus of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) examiners in the coming year. The high-profile FTX case and criminal charges against Sam Bankman-Fried and others have brought the issues to the SEC’s attention. The SEC handled 24 enforcement actions involving cryptocurrency in the first half of 2023. Going forward, the SEC will pay closer attention to cryptocurrency assets and companies, as well as anti-money laundering (ALM) programs going into 2024.The rash of cryptocurrency failures, cybersecurity failings, and potential for money laundering are a focus of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) examiners in the coming year. The high-profile FTX case and criminal charges against Sam Bankman-Fried and others have brought the issues to the SEC’s attention. The SEC handled 24 enforcement actions involving cryptocurrency in the first half of 2023. Continue reading

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New York-based hedge fund investment and technology development firm D. E. Shaw has settled with the SEC over charges that it violated the rights of current and former employees when it raised “impediments” for them to become whistleblowers. The SEC also fined D. E. Shaw $10M to settle the charges. D. E. Shaw has since updated its documentation to allow employees to contact the SEC and other agencies to report possible misconduct. At issue is the firm’s requirement that employees sign agreements that prohibited the disclosure of sensitive or confidential information to any third party. Without an exception for possible SEC whistleblowers, employees were prevented from contacting the SEC with any damning information they felt necessary. Exiting employees were also required to sign a release indicating that they had not filed any reports with any governmental agency, or risk losing deferred compensation and other financial incentives.New York-based hedge fund investment and technology development firm D. E. Shaw has settled with the SEC over charges that it violated the rights of current and former employees when it raised “impediments” for them to become whistleblowers. The SEC also fined D. E. Shaw $10M to settle the charges. D. E. Shaw has since updated its documentation to allow employees to contact the SEC and other agencies to report possible misconduct. Continue reading

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The SEC settled charges against CRBE, a Dallas-based commercial real estate services and investment firm, for using a clause in their separation agreements that violated the Securities and Exchange Commission’s whistleblower protection rule. Departing employees could receive separation pay only if they signed a release that stated they had not filed any complaints against the firm with the SEC or any other federal agency. This violates the SEC’s whistleblower protection rule for those employees. During 2021 and 2022 nearly 900 former employees had signed this release as part of their separation agreement. Those agreements would impede a former employee from filing a claim. Making it contingent for employees to receive separation pay was an action intended to directly prohibit them from contacting any federal agency regarding the company. This directly violates whistleblower provisions under Exchange Act Rule 21F-17(a).The SEC settled charges against CRBE, a Dallas-based commercial real estate services and investment firm, for using a clause in their separation agreements that violated the Securities and Exchange Commission’s whistleblower protection rule. Departing employees could receive separation pay only if they signed a release that stated they had not filed any complaints against the firm with the SEC or any other federal agency. This violates the SEC’s whistleblower protection rule for those employees. During 2021 and 2022 nearly 900 former employees had signed this release as part of their separation agreement. Continue reading

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Can a company prohibit former employees from speaking to federal regulators, such as the SEC, and function as a whistleblower? They can certainly try, but it is still illegal. Monolith Resources, LLC, based in Nebraska, included language in their employment separation agreements prohibiting departing employees from recovering money through participation in investigations, enforcement actions, or filing claims with the government. This includes participating in the SEC's Whistleblower program. On Friday, September 8, 2023, the privately held tech and energy company agreed to pay a $225,000 penalty for violating the whistleblower protection rules and including this language in their employee separation agreements. According to the SEC, the company included this language for approximately three years.Can a company prohibit former employees from speaking to federal regulators, such as the SEC, and function as a whistleblower? They can certainly try, but it is still illegal.

Monolith Resources, LLC, based in Nebraska, included language in their employment separation agreements prohibiting departing employees from recovering money through participation in investigations, enforcement actions, or filing claims with the government. This includes participating in the SEC’s Whistleblower program. Continue reading

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The SEC recently announced yet another sizeable award to an individual who came forward as a whistleblower. In the press release, the SEC described the $18 million award to a single individual who “refused to turn a blind eye to the wrongdoing, reporting misconduct internally and then to the Commission.”  The whistleblower first reported the conduct internally, and then notified the SEC, who then began an investigation. Information from this whistleblower was also closely related to the charges that were levied by the SEC. The cooperation, information, and assistance the individual provided proved invaluable to SEC staff, saving both time and resources throughout the investigation.   The $18 million award is a percentage of monetary sanctions and other costs collected from the company itself, not from recovered investor’s funds.   A second claimant’s application for award was denied after it was established that they did not contact the SEC within 120 days of internally reporting the conduct and did not lead to a successful enforcement action.  The SEC recently announced yet another sizeable award to an individual who came forward as a whistleblower. In the press release, the SEC described the $18 million award to a single individual who “refused to turn a blind eye to the wrongdoing, reporting misconduct internally and then to the Commission.”  Continue reading

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In the SEC’s latest press releaseIn the SEC’s latest press release, seven individuals have received bounties after supplying credible information and continued assistance that led to a successful enforcement action. The same information and assistance led to another successful related action by a different federal agency. The bounty of $104 million is the fourth largest award in the history of the SEC’s Whistleblower program. Three single claimants and two sets of joint claimants submitted timely information and offered considerable assistance to SEC staff that allowed them to pursue actions against the company for documented misconduct. The same information was used by another agency and led to two more related actions that included awards., seven individuals have received bounties after supplying credible information and continued assistance that led to a successful enforcement action. The same information and assistance led to another successful related action by a different federal agency. The bounty of $104 million is the fourth largest award in the history of the SEC’s Whistleblower program. Continue reading

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The SEC has announced its latest whistleblower bounty of approximately $9 million to one individual. The amount represents a percentage of the collected monetary sanctions from the enforcement actions. In the press release, the SEC stated that the individual “repeatedly” reported their concerns internally before submitting their information to the Enforcement Division. The whistleblower then provided “substantial and ongoing cooperation” to SEC staff, which included substantial, comprehensive information that led to a successful enforcement action.The SEC has announced its latest whistleblower bounty of approximately $9 million to one individual. The amount represents a percentage of the collected monetary sanctions from the enforcement actions.

In the press release, the SEC stated that the individual “repeatedly” reported their concerns internally before submitting their information to the Enforcement Division. The whistleblower then provided “substantial and ongoing cooperation” to SEC staff, which included substantial, comprehensive information that led to a successful enforcement action. Continue reading

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In December 2022, the social media world was stunned to learn that federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were filing civil and criminal charges against eight social media influencers. According to the complaints, the prosecutors and SEC accuse the influencers of using their social media visibility to manipulate stock prices—a $114 million fraud scheme. As we will discuss below, the case highlights the line between legitimate advice to investors and illegality, whether it's dispensed online for the public or in more traditional forms of investor communications. A Pump-And-Dump Reimagined Is Still A Pump-And-Dump In the 2022 case, the defendants allegedly ran a “pump and dump” scheme. According to the criminal indictment, the defendants purchased stocks at a low value, then posted positive but unfounded messages about them on social media. They disseminated false claims about how long they intended to hold onto the securities, the amount of due diligence they’d conducted relating to the securities’ values, and how much they believed the securities would increase in value. It worked. The stock prices rose. Then, the defendants secretly sold their shares, profiting at least $114 million from their manipulations.In December 2022, the social media world was stunned to learn that federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were filing civil and criminal charges against eight social media influencers. According to the complaints, the prosecutors and SEC accuse the influencers of using their social media visibility to manipulate stock prices—a $114 million fraud scheme. As we will discuss below, the case highlights the line between legitimate advice to investors and illegality, whether it’s dispensed online for the public or in more traditional forms of investor communications. Continue reading

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