An article titled Whistleblower Rule: Business Leaders Want it Changed reports on SEC rules giving corporate whistleblowers an opportunity to obtain substantial monetary awards for reporting securities law violations. The rule has alarmed the business community, which argues that the plan would encourage frivolous claims and undermine a decade of work to provide safe reporting channels for whistleblowers. The articles states:
A key point of contention is whether the whistleblower should be required to report internally first. The SEC proposal would give the employee the choice of going directly to the government, and would protect the tipster’s “place in line” for the bonus by using the date of any internal reporting in determining whether the information qualified for a payout.
Whistleblowers almost always attempt to report internally and face retaliation while their concerns are squashed, said Jason Zuckerman . . . .”While some companies have established robust compliance programs, there are also corporate compliance programs that are just window dressing, especially in organizations where senior management is condoning or orchestrating fraud to increase profits,” Zuckerman said. “When a corporation has an opportunity to deal with an issue before the issue is provided to the SEC, that can be an opportunity for the corporation to destroy evidence and to influence what the key witnesses are likely to say to the SEC.”
Experienced SEC Whistleblower Lawyers
The experienced whistleblower lawyers at Zuckerman Law represent whistleblowers worldwide before the SEC under the Dodd-Frank SEC Whistleblower Program. The firm has a licensed Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner on staff to enhance its ability to investigate and disclose complex financial fraud to the SEC.
Firm Principal Jason Zuckerman has been named by Washingtonian Magazine as a “Top Whistleblower Lawyer” and the firm has been ranked by U.S. News as a Tier 1 Firm in Labor & Employment Litigation.
Whistleblower law firm Zuckerman Law has substantial experience investigating securities fraud schemes and preparing effective submissions to the SEC concerning a wide range of federal securities violations, including:
- Accounting fraud;
- Investment and securities fraud;
- EB-5 investment fraud;
- Manipulation of a security’s price or volume;
- Fraudulent securities offerings and Ponzi schemes;
- Unregistered securities offerings;
- Investment adviser fraud;
- False or misleading statements about a company or investment;
- Inadequate internal controls; and
- Violations of auditor independence rules.
See our column in Forbes: One Billion Reasons Why The SEC Whistleblower-Reward Program Is Effective.
See our column in Going Concern: Sarbanes-Oxley 15 Years Later: Accountants Need to Speak Up Now More Than Ever.
See our post in Accounting Today: Whistleblower Protections and Incentives for Auditors and Accountants.
See our post in The Compliance and Ethics Blog: Shkreli Trial Reveals the Challenges Faced by Compliance Whistleblowers.
For more information about the SEC Whistleblower Program, see the following resources:
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