Whistleblower Rewards and Protections for Compliance Officers and Compliance Personnel

The whistleblower lawyers at Zuckerman Law represent compliance personnel in whistleblower retaliation and whistleblower rewards claims, including claims brought under these whistleblower reward programs:

• Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Reward Program: whistleblower rewards for reporting money laundering.
• SEC Whistleblower Reward Program: whistleblower rewards for reporting violations of the federal securities laws.
• CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program: whistleblower rewards for reporting violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.
• IRS Whistleblower Reward Program: whistleblower rewards for reporting tax fraud or underpayments.
• False Claims Act / Qui Tam Lawsuits: whistleblower rewards for reporting fraud on the government.

Click here for a recent interview of whistleblower lawyer Jason Zuckerman about CCOs facing whistleblower retaliation.  We have obtained significant recoveries for senior compliance professionals in SOX whistleblower retaliation claims, including two settlements in excess of $1 million.

Call our top-rated whistleblower lawyers at 202-262-8959 for a free confidential confidential consultation. And see our tips to maximize your recovery in your whistleblower retaliation case.

Compliance personnel can be eligible for an SEC whistleblower award if they meet one of the following three requirements set forth at Section 21F-4 of the Securities Exchange Act:

1. they reasonably believe the disclosure is necessary to prevent conduct that is likely to cause “substantial injury” to the financial interest or property of the entity or investors;
2. they reasonably believe the entity is engaging in “conduct that will impede an investigation of the misconduct”; or
3. at least 120 days have passed either since they properly disclosed the information internally, or since they obtained the information under circumstances indicating that the entity’s officers already knew of the information.

Notably, the 120-day exception does not apply to external auditors who obtained the information during the audit of an issuer. Instead, external auditors can immediately report to the SEC after they inform a superior in their accounting firm about improper or illegal client activity and the accounting firm fails to promptly report the securities law violation to the SEC. The first two exceptions also apply to external auditors when the violation is “material.

Those requirements do not apply to compliance personnel reporting money laundering to the Department of Treasury or Department of Justice.

 

Recently the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners published a profile of Matt Stock’s success working with whistleblowers to fight fraud:

Increased Scrutiny of Gatekeepers Requires Robust Protection for Gatekeeper Whistleblowers

As regulators subject gatekeepers to heightened scrutiny and liability, gatekeeper whistleblowers require robust whistleblower protection.  Examples of increased pressure on gatekeepers include:

• Judicial scrutiny of legal advice designed to “generate the client’s desired result when the real-world facts would not support it,” such as attorneys orchestrating a “sham” trigger of  a general partner’s right to buy back a partnership’s interests;
• SEC focus on “up the ladder” reporting duty of lawyers practicing before the SEC; and
• DOJ scrutiny of corporate compliance programs.

Prohibited Whistleblower Retaliation Against Compliance Personnel

Remedies for Compliance Officers Combatting Whistleblower Retaliation

Whistleblower Attorneys Representing Compliance Officers

The experienced whistleblower lawyers at Zuckerman Law have substantial experience representing Compliance Officers, auditors, and compliance personnel.  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, and two of the firm’s attorneys served in high-level positions at a government agency that protects whistleblowers.

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.

For more information about the SEC Whistleblower Program, download our free ebook SEC Whistleblower Program: Tips from SEC Whistleblower Attorneys to Maximize an SEC Whistleblower Award and see the following resources:

• Tips for SEC Whistleblowers
• Shkreli Trial Reveals the Challenges Faced by Compliance Whistleblowers
• Leading SEC Whistleblower Law Firm Featured in Article About Growing Wave of Whistleblower Lawsuits
• SEC Whistleblower Reward Program FAQ
• Auditors’ and accountants’ guide to SEC whistleblower awards
• Whistleblower Protections and Incentives for Auditors and Accountants
• How to Report EB-5 Fraud and Earn an SEC Whistleblower Award
• CFTC Strengthens Anti-Retaliation Protections for Whistleblowers and Improves CFTC Whistleblower Award Program
• SEC Cracking Down on Ponzi Schemes
• SEC Scrutinizes “Fake News” Stock Promotion Schemes
• SEC Whistleblower Program: Exposing Insider Trading
• SEC Awards for Disclosures of Foreign Bribery or FCPA Violations
• Whistleblower Rewards and Bounties for Disclosures of Market Manipulation Schemes
• SEC Targeting Investment Adviser Fraud
• Compliance Personnel, Auditors, Officers and Directors Can Obtain SEC Whistleblower Awards
• Money Laundering and the SEC Whistleblower Program
• International Whistleblower Representation – SEC Whistleblower Attorney
• Anonymous Whistleblowing: Does the SEC Whistleblower Program Protect a Whistleblower’s Identity?
• SEC Awards for Disclosures of Foreign Bribery or FCPA Violations
• Securities Fraud Enforcement Action Prompts the Question: What Was the Company Smoking?
• Compliance Officer Whistleblower Representation
• SEC Whistleblower Program: What is the SEC Form TCR?
• Tale of Two Whistleblowers: Lessons Learned from Today’s SEC Whistleblower Award
• Whistleblowers Help CFTC Obtain Record Penalties for Commodities Fraud
• Report Underscores Importance of Whistleblower Rewards and Protections for Internal Auditors
• SEC Sanctions: Whistleblower Reference Guide
• Protections and Rewards for Cybersecurity Whistleblowers
• CFTC Announces Second Whistleblower Award in 2016 as the Agency’s Whistleblower Reward Program Picks Up Steam
• EB-5 Visa Scandal Underscores the Critical Role Whistleblowers Play in Exposing EB-5 Fraud
• SEC Enforcement Director Touts Success of SEC Whistleblower Program
• SEC Whistleblower Program Not Limited to Corporate Insiders
• SEC Pays $3M Award to Whistleblower
• SEC Draft Strategic Plan Affirms the Importance of the SEC’s Whistleblower Reward Program
• Whistleblower Lawyer Interviewed About SEC Whistleblower Award
• Wall Street Journal Quotes Jason Zuckerman on Dodd-Frank SEC Regulations
• SEC Whistleblower Lawyer Quoted in National Law Journal About SEC Whistleblower Program
• SEC Whistleblower Lawyer Zuckerman Quoted About SEC Whistleblower Award for Independent Analysis
• SEC Whistleblower Lawyer Jason Zuckerman Quoted About Tips for SEC Whistleblowers
• Whistleblower Lawyer Jason Zuckerman Quoted About SEC Whistleblower Award
• Whistleblower Lawyer Interviewed About the Rise of Cybersecurity Whistleblowing
• Whistleblower Attorney Zuckerman Quoted in Washington Post About SEC Order
• Whistleblower Attorney Dallas Hammer Interviewed by Bloomberg About Dodd-Frank Protected Whistleblowing
• SEC Whistleblower Lawyer Zuckerman Quoted About SEC Whistleblower Award for Independent Analysis
• Audit committees need to dig into personal relationships
• Whistleblower Bounties Pose Challenges
• CFO Magazine Quotes Whistleblower Attorney Jason Zuckerman About Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Rules
• Fiscal Times Quotes Jason Zuckerman About Dodd-Frank Act Whistleblower Reward Provisions
• Whistleblower Attorney Jason Zuckerman Quoted About Battle Over Corporate Whistleblower Rules

SEC Whistleblower Awards to Compliance Officers

Leading SEC Whistleblower Lawyer Quoted About Award to Compliance Professionals

An article in Law 360 titled Big Awards Pushing Compliance Pros To Be Whistleblowers discusses the impact of the SEC’s award of approximately $1.5M to a compliance officer.  The article reports that both defense counsel and whistleblower counsel have seen an uptick in whistleblower complaints brought by internal audit and compliance personnel.

In the article, SEC whistleblower lawyer Jason Zuckerman notes that this substantial award to a compliance officer and prior SEC whistleblower awards to internal audit and accounting personnel show that compliance programs in some companies are ineffective.

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One of the purposes of this exclusion was to prevent employees from having an incentive to “‘front run[]’…processes that are important components of effective company compliance programs.” Securities Whistleblower Incentives and Protections, 76 Fed. Reg. 34300, 34316 (June 13, 2011)