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CFTC, IRS, SEC Whistleblower & White Collar Defense Articles

The Pickholz Law Offices Celebrates Its 10th Year Anniversary!

It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since I set out to form my own law firm. My vision was to create a law firm that would handle all types of securities investigations, from the SEC and the DOJ, to State authorities, to FINRA and other SROs, however the client might be situated, be it as a defendant, witness, or whistleblower. At the time, I received cautionary advice that I would not be able to represent securities defendants and witnesses while also representing SEC whi... read more

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New SEC Whistleblower Rules Amendments, Part 2

New SEC Whistleblower Rules Amendments, Part 2 How Will The New SEC Whistleblower Rules Shape the Legal Landscape? The U.S. Congress created the SEC whistleblower program to incentivize individuals to report securities violations to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In doing so, Congress intended to assist the SEC in enforcing the federal securities laws and upholding a fair securities marketplace. Since the program's inception, whistleblowers have contributed significantly to... read more

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New SEC Rules Amendments Raise Concerns For Whistleblower Attorneys: How Justified Are They?

Two recent, momentous announcements by the SEC grabbed the attention of SEC whistleblowers and the whistleblower law firm attorneys who represent them. On September 28, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it granted its 100th whistleblower award. On October 22, 2020, the SEC announced that it granted a $114 million whistleblower award. This was the largest SEC whistleblower award granted to date. In a statement about the 100th award, the SEC’s Chairman said:... read more

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Defending An SEC Investigation: Jason Pickholz video rated 5 out of 5 stars: "One of the best programs, on any legal topic, I have ever seen."

Jason Pickholz taught a program for Lawline called “Defending An SEC Investigation”.   Since the SEC investigation video first aired, it has been rated 5 out of 5 stars, based on more than 230 viewer ratings (as of May 19, 2021). You can see some clips from the SEC investigation video at the bottom of this page.  The complete SEC investigation video is available on-line at Lawline’s website.  The program offers Continuing Legal Education credit ... read more

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The Impact Of COVID-19 On SEC Whistleblower Processes And SEC Enforcement Investigations

[Updated on April 4, 2020 to reflect new developments.]  Since a national emergency was declared a little over a week ago, there has been a lot of coverage of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19.  However, very little if any of that coverage has addressed the impact of COVID-19 on SEC whistleblower processes or its impact on parties involved in SEC investigations. The SEC’s Home Office in Washington, D.C. Government announcements and ordinances, media articles, blogs, and so... read more

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Update to Securities Crimes book written by Jason Pickholz now available.

With the recent release of the 2020 edition of Securities Crimes, the two-volume book now contains 128 pages of detailed SEC whistleblower information, not including appendices. Securities Crimes is published by Thomson Reuters, one of the preeminent legal publishers. Jason Pickholz, the founder of The Pickholz Law Offices LLC, is one of the book’s co-authors. Authors “Are Among The Leading Practitioners And Academics In The Field Of Securities Law” According to Thomson Reuters’ we... read more

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Insider Trading: Historic US House Bill Would Clarify What It Is And When It Is Illegal

2019 Year-In-Review Part 3 For many years, it has been axiomatic that insider trading is illegal.  However, what exactly insider trading is and how to define it has caused some difficulty and conflict among the courts. In large part that is because -- believe it or not -- there is no federal statue actually defining what insider trading is. Therefore, what the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission commonly does is to bring cases for the “employment of manipulative and deceptive devices... read more

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US Senate & House Take Up SEC Disgorgement After Kokesh: 2019 Year-In-Review Part 2

Congress took up SEC disgorgement during 2019 In today’s post, I discuss certain developments in 2019 that concern the continued viability of SEC disgorgement as a remedy against securities law violators. These 2019 developments are of great relevance to both SEC defendants and SEC whistleblowers alike, and are worth following as we head into 2020. For decades it has been accepted that the SEC can seek disgorgement in court actions. However, in 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ru... read more

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Senate, House & 68 IGs Unite Behind Strong Whistleblowing Policy: 2019 Year-In-Review

Amid recent calls by certain individuals to reveal the identity of “the Ukraine whistleblower”, many potential SEC whistleblowers, and SEC whistleblower lawyers, have been wondering whether the U.S. government’s whistleblowing policy is still on their side.  It is. Year-end is a time when many people reflect upon the year that has just passed.  In that spirit, now is a perfect time to review some of the federal government’s resolutions, bills, and public statements from 2019, and what... read more

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SEC Whistleblower Award Winners Have These Things In Common

This year’s Securities and Exchange Commission’s Annual Report to Congress on the SEC Whistleblower Program describes some of the common characteristics shared by past SEC whistleblower award winners. The SEC’s 2019 Report To Congress For those who are unfamiliar with the SEC’s Annual Report, by law each year the SEC is required to provide a report to the U.S. Congress about its whistleblower program.  The Annual Report typically contains a lot of facts and statistics about... read more

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Jason Pickholz Certified As A Neutral FINRA Arbitrator

The Pickholz Law Offices is pleased to announce that Jason Pickholz has been certified as a neutral FINRA arbitrator. About FINRA The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) is a not-for-profit self-regulatory organization authorized by the U.S. Congress “to protect America’s investors by making sure the broker-dealer industry operates fairly and honestly.” FINRA is overseen by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). As of February 12, 2019, FINR... read more

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SEC Says Co. Violated Whistleblower Protection Rules By Impeding Investors

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently amended a court Complaint to add charges that a company and its owner violated SEC whistleblower protection rules.  (For past cases in which the SEC brought actions against companies for violating whistleblower protection rules, see my earlier post here.) The recent case is SEC v. Collector’s Coffee, Inc. d/b/a Collectors Café, and Mykalai Kontilai.  According to the SEC’s amended Complaint in that case, the defendants violated SEC w... read more

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DB Whistleblower Award Denial Highlights The Importance Of Having Good Counsel At The Start

Last week, in a full written Opinion, a U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2017 decision to deny three claimants a share of an SEC whistleblower award related to Deutsche Bank (the “DB whistleblower award”). One of the unsuccessful claimants was an individual identified in court papers as “John Doe”.  The SEC lawyers who interacted with Doe described him as disjointed and incoherent, and stated that they did not use his information in initiat... read more

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Forbes article references SEC Whistleblower Information.com, The Pickholz Law Offices' free online encyclopedia.

Forbes Article Cites SEC Whistleblower Info, The Free OnLine Encyclopedia From The Pickholz Law Offices SEC Whistleblower Info, The Pickholz Law Offices’ free online encyclopedia, appears in a February 15, 2019 article published on Forbes' website.  The Forbes article is titled “Insider Files Whistleblower Report Against Domino’s Pizza”. The article discusses a corporate insider who filed what it calls “a well-documented whistleblower report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Co... read more

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Can SEC Whistleblower Tips Be Submitted During The Shutdown?

The U.S. government began its shutdown on December 22, 2018.  As of today, the shutdown has gone on for 13 days.  It is now the fourth longest shutdown in U.S. history, and still going.  (CNN has a chart listing all federal government shutdowns since 1976 here.)  If you are an SEC whistleblower or an SEC whistleblower lawyer, you might be wondering whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is still accepting SEC whistleblower tips during the shutdown. [Edit: The December 2018 - J... read more

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Record-Breaking Year For SEC’s Whistleblower Award Program

According to the SEC’s Annual Report to Congress, 2018 “was a record-breaking year” for the SEC’s whistleblower award program. OWB Chief’s Message About the SEC’s Whistleblower Award Program The SEC’s 2018 Report To Congress Each year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Whistleblower (“OWB”) is required to submit a report to the U.S. Congress about the SEC’s whistleblower award program. The annual report informs Congress about the OWB... read more

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2019 Update To Securities Crimes Book Written By SEC Whistleblower Author Jason Pickholz

Thomson Reuters Releases 2019 Update to Securities Crimes 2d Thomson Reuters has released the 2019 update for the 2-volume book Securities Crimes, co-written by SEC whistleblower author Jason Pickholz. As explained by Thomson Reuters on its website, the book “provides a thorough review of the application of the securities laws and other criminal statutes in prosecutions, along with an in-depth consideration of how the law is applied in civil enforcement proceedings.” One of the subjects... read more

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GOP, Dems, and Independents All Agree On One Thing: The SEC’s Whistleblower Program

Senators, Congressmen, and SEC officials all have high praise for the SEC’s whistleblower program. The SEC’s Whistleblower Program Has Proven To Be A Unifying Force. As we head into the 2018 mid-term elections, one refrain seems to be dominating the public headlines:  the country is fractured.  Fractured over issues stemming from athletes kneeling during the national anthem; fractured over issues surrounding the #MeToo movement; fractured over judicial confirmation hearings; fractured ov... read more

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Do I Have A Good SEC Whistleblower Program Case?

A potential SEC whistleblower often wants to know whether he or she has a good SEC whistleblower program case.  This leads to the question of what type of SEC whistleblower program case the SEC might be interested in hearing about. Part of the answer to that question might come from looking at types of cases that the SEC has brought in the past.  To get started, you can take a look at prior posts that I have written about types of SEC cases by clicking here, here, here, and here. ... read more

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Jason Pickholz video on the SEC whistleblower program rated 4.9 out of 5 stars (over 1,630 viewer ratings).

Jason Pickholz taught a program for Lawline called “When The Whistle Blows:  What You Need To Know About Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes Oxley”.  The SEC whistleblower program video has been rated 4.9 out of 5 stars, based on more than 1,630 viewer ratings (as of May 19, 2021). You can see some clips from the program at the bottom of this page.  The complete video is available on-line at Lawline’s website.  It offers Continuing Legal Education credit for lawyers through Lawline. ... read more

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New: Free SEC Whistleblower Information Website - SECWhistleblowerInfo.com

The Pickholz Law Offices Announces A New Online Encyclopedia:  Everything You Want To Know About The SEC Whistleblower Program The Pickholz Law Offices is pleased to announce that it has launched a new standalone website called SEC Whistleblower Information. The standalone website is free, and requires no login or sign-up to use. As of today, SEC Whistleblower Information consists of over 110 pages and subpages, with new pages being added regularly. SEC Whistleblower Informa... read more

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Supreme Court: Whistleblowers Must Report To SEC For Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protections

Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Opinion in Digital Realty Trust v. Somers, a case that has been closely watched by SEC whistleblowers and SEC whistleblower attorneys.  In today’s Opinion, the Supreme Court ruled that employees must report to the SEC in order to be able to claim private Dodd-Frank whistleblower protections. Background Of The Case On June 26, 2017, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.  For background on the case, you can read my earlier post about i... read more

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Securities Crimes 2018 Update, With Expanded SEC Whistleblower Chapter Authored By Jason Pickholz

Thomson Reuters has released the new 2018 update to the two-volume book Securities Crimes, including an expanded chapter on the SEC whistleblower program.  With this year’s update, the SEC whistleblower chapter has grown to 105 pages plus appendices. Jason Pickholz is a co-author of Securities Crimes.  As one of the first SEC whistleblower lawyers to win an SEC whistleblower award for a client, and the first SEC whistleblower lawyer ever to win an award for a client on appeal to the Commi... read more

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Jason Pickholz Interviewed On Bloomberg Radio

Jason Pickholz, Book Author and SEC Whistleblower Lawyer On Bloomberg Radio Discussing Supreme Court Case Involving Whistleblowers -- Jason Pickholz appeared as a guest SEC whistleblower lawyer on Bloomberg Radio to discuss today’s U.S. Supreme Court arguments in Digital Realty v. Somers.  This case is being closely watched by SEC whistleblower attorneys and corporate lawyers alike. Mr. Pickholz appeared on the program as an SEC whistleblower lawyer, while another guest spoke from the corpo... read more

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Does The SEC Give Sufficient Notice To Claim An SEC Whistleblower Award?

-- 2 Whistleblowers Ask The Second Circuit To Decide -- Under the SEC whistleblower program, people who provide information about securities frauds to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission can receive monetary whistleblower awards.  Those awards can range from 10% - 30% of the amount of fines and penalties that the SEC collects from the transgressors, so long as the SEC collects more than $1 million from the perpetrators of the fraud.  In some cases, the SEC has given out whistleblower ... read more

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Jason Pickholz - pickholzlaw.com

The Pickholz Law Offices represents U.S. and international clients in securities and white collar cases. The Firm has helped whistleblowers report frauds to the SEC, CFTC, and IRS, and has defended clients in investigations by the SEC, CFTC, DOJ, FINRA, and other financial and securities enforcement regulators.

The Firm’s founder, Jason Pickholz, is the author of the two-volume book Securities Crimes, has appeared on tv and radio, and has taught continuing legal education courses. A former BigLaw partner, he has been representing clients in financial and securities fraud cases since 1995. In recognition of his many achievements, Mr. Pickholz was elected by his legal peers to be a Fellow of The New York Bar Foundation, an honor limited to just 1% of all attorneys in the New York State Bar Association.

Mr. Pickholz has been counsel in many high-profile cases. He was the first attorney ever to win an SEC whistleblower award on appeal to the Commission, which Inside Counsel magazine called one of the five key events in the history of the SEC whistleblower program. On the defense side, Mr. Pickholz has defended clients in the SEC’s COVID-19 investigations, the CFTC’s cryptocurrency cases, and a former US Senator, among others.

If you want to speak with a CFTC, IRS, or SEC whistleblower lawyer, or with a white collar defense lawyer, you can call the Firm at 347-746-1222.

The above information is not and should not be construed as providing legal advice. It is not and should never be considered as a substitute for consulting with your own lawyer. The use of this web site or this page does not constitute or create any attorney-client, fiduciary, or confidential relationship between The Pickholz Law Offices LLC and anyone using this web site, or anyone else. The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. The content of this web site may not reflect current developments. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Results of prior cases or matters contained on this web site are not indicative of future results or outcomes, and should not be taken as a prediction, promise, or guarantee of any future result or outcome. No one who accesses this web site should act or refrain from acting based on anything contained on this web site. For additional terms-of-use and conditions governing the use of this web site, please view our full Terms and Conditions.