The SEC recently announced the settlement of multiple enforcement actions for violations of its whistleblower protection rule, which prohibits “any action to impede an individual from communicating directly with the...more
9/12/2024
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Investment Adviser ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Separation Agreement ,
Settlement ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Since 2015, the SEC has brought nearly two dozen enforcement actions for violations of the whistleblower protection rules under Rule 21F-17(a) against employers for actions taken to impede reporting to the SEC. The bulk of...more
10/19/2023
/ Carve Out Provisions ,
Compliance ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Penalties ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Separation Agreement ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
As we reported here, on May 5, 2023, the SEC issued an award of $279 million to a whistleblower. This is the largest award the SEC has issued to an individual whistleblower in the history of the SEC Office of the...more
In 2011, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted Rule 21F- 17 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It prevents companies from, among other things, using confidentiality agreements to impede whistleblowing to...more
On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order, in which he described the nation’s antitrust laws as the “first line of defense against the monopolization of the American economy” and encouraged the Federal Trade...more
7/6/2022
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Asset Purchase Agreements ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Monopolization ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
The Clayton Act
On November 17, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that a company and its CEO violated Rule 21F-17 of the Exchange Act by entering into confidentiality agreements with investors that...more
12/17/2021
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investors ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rule 21F-17 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On November 23, 2021, the SEC issued an award of $400,000 to a whistleblower who voluntarily provided the SEC with original information that assisted the agency in bringing a successful enforcement action that resulted in the...more
On November 15, 2021, the SEC published its annual report to Congress covering the period from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021. The report was prepared by the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower to summarize its...more
On October 15, 2021, the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower announced multi-million dollar awards to two whistleblowers who provided the SEC with information that assisted the agency in bringing a successful enforcement...more
On September 24, 2021, the SEC announced an approximately $36 million award to a whistleblower who provided critical information to the SEC that contributed to a successful enforcement action. ...more
On June 23, 2021, the SEC announced that Guggenheim Securities, LLC (“Company”) agreed to settle charges that it violated Rule 21F-17 by including language in its compliance manual and training materials that allegedly...more
On May 10, 2021, the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower announced multi-million dollar awards to two whistleblowers who provided the SEC with information that assisted the agency in bringing a successful enforcement action...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) recently released its 2020 Annual Report on the status of its whistleblower program for the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2020....more
On September 23, 2020, by a vote of 3 to 2, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced the adoption of a final rule implementing several changes to its whistleblower program, citing the need to “provide greater...more
10/8/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Final Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On September 14, 2020, the SEC announced payment of more than $10 million to a whistleblower who provided original information to the SEC that led to a successful enforcement action....more
On November 15, 2019, the SEC published its annual report to Congress covering the agency’s whistleblower program.
The report, which covers the period of October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019, was prepared by the...more
On June 3, 2019, the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower announced a $3 million award to two whistleblowers who provided the SEC with information that led it to investigate and successfully bring an enforcement action for...more
6/19/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment Companies ,
Retail Investors ,
Rule 21F ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
In an unusual and eye-catching case, a hospital facing a whistleblower lawsuit from a former senior executive under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) has brought suit against that individual, alleging he breached his fiduciary...more
On September 6, 2018, the SEC Office of the Whistleblower awarded $39 million to one whistleblower and $15 million to another. The $39 million award is the second-largest award in the history of the program, behind a $50...more
On August 10, 2016, the SEC announced that BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (Company) is settling charges that it violated Rule 21F-17 by requiring outgoing employees to waive whistleblower bounty awards in connection with severance...more
8/12/2016
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Government Agencies ,
Penalties ,
Rule 21F ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Severance Agreements ,
Termination ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
On April 4, 2016, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued its third and largest award, of more than $10 million, as part of its Dodd-Frank whistleblower program. As was the case with the CFTC’s two...more
On March 8, 2016, the SEC announced payment of nearly $2,000,000 in whistleblower bounty awards to three tipsters. (The order granting the award can be accessed here.) The largest of the three awards, approximately...more
On November 4, 2015, the SEC announced that it would pay a former investment firm employee a whistleblower bounty award totaling more than $325,000. Notably, the SEC’s Order indicated that the award was decreased “because...more
On September 29, 2015, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it will make its second award as part of its whistleblower program, which was created by Dodd-Frank. The tipster will receive a...more
Wednesday, the SEC announced that it would pay an unidentified compliance officer a whistleblower bounty award of between $1.4 and $1.6 million. This is the second award that the SEC has made to a whistleblower with internal...more