Whistleblowers are vital to the identification and investigation of misconduct in the country’s financial sector. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed in 2010 and established a whistleblower program that would allow individuals with information of securities fraud to file a case on behalf of the government and receive a monetary award.

Since the start of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whistleblower program, the SEC has awarded more than $1.1 billion to 214 individuals for providing information that led to successful enforcement action.

In fiscal year 2021, the SEC received the largest number of whistleblower tips (more than 12,200) and issued the highest number of awards, both in terms of dollars ($564 million) and individuals (108) awarded. In fact, the SEC issued more whistleblower awards in 2021 than in all the prior years combined. The SEC received tips from individuals in every state in the U.S. and the District of Columbia as well as from individuals in 99 foreign countries.

These results reflect the SEC’s commitment to supporting and encouraging whistleblowers to come forward and report fraud by quickly processing whistleblower award claims. Whistleblowers reporting fraud and misconduct to the SEC helped return millions of dollars to harmed investors

The awards distributed to whistleblowers in fiscal year 2021 also include the SEC’s two largest awards to date—a $114 million award to one whistleblower in October 2020, and a combined $114 million award to two whistleblowers in September 2021.

Whistleblowers can report any violation of the federal securities laws, including:

• Accounting fraud
• Auditor independence rule violations
• Blockchain and cryptocurrency fraud
• Cybersecurity disclosure violations
• False or misleading statements about a company or investment
• Foreign bribery and other FCPA violations
• Fraudulent securities offerings
• Hedge fund fraud
• Inadequate internal controls
• Insider trading
• Investment adviser fraud
• Investment & securities fraud
• Manipulation of a security’s price or volume
• Money laundering violations
• Ponzi or pyramid schemes
• Unregistered broker-dealers

Contact Baron & Budd

With more than 30 years of experience, the attorneys on Baron & Budd’s whistleblower representation team have represented dozens of clients in government fraud cases returning over $5.4 billion to federal and state agencies, with whistleblower recovery shares as high as 49%. They are ready to help if you have evidence of securities violations.

Please call (866) 401-5971 or complete our contact form if you would like more information. For more information, see What You Need to Know About Becoming a Whistleblower. Please understand that contacting us does not mean that you have established an attorney-client relationship with Baron & Budd, P.C.