SEC Whistleblower Award Program Sees Increased Activity during
2014

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a
press release announcing increased activity in its SEC
whistleblower award program during the 2014 fiscal year.

The highlights that the SEC reported for 2014 included

• Nine (9) SEC whistleblowers received SEC whistleblower
  rewards (disclaimer:  one of those SEC whistleblowers who
  received an award was a client of the Pickholz Law
  Offices)
• The SEC gave out approximately $35 million in SEC
  whistleblower awards
• The SEC whistleblower program gave out one SEC whistleblower
  award of more than $30 million, which was the largest award
  given out so far
• The SEC brought its first SEC whistleblower protection case
  by charging a company for illegally retaliating against an
  SEC whistleblower

The press release also described some of the types of cases
that the SEC brought against companies and individuals during
fiscal year 2014.

A potential SEC whistleblower or SEC whistleblower attorney
might want to take note of the kinds of cases listed in the
press release.  They are examples of the kinds of frauds
and violations that the SEC has taken interest in
recently.  They may also serve as indications of some of
the kinds of cases that the SEC might be interested in hearing
about during the remainder of 2014 and throughout 2015.

Among the types of cases mentioned in the SEC press release
were:

• Violations relating to reporting and disclosures.  The
  SEC charged more than 135 parties with these kinds of
  violations during FY 2014.
• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations. 
  According to the press release, the SEC filed
  “significant” actions against several large
  companies.  In a case against former executives of yet
  another company who were charged with bribery in Argentina,
  the SEC obtained its highest-ever FCPA penalties against
  individuals.
• “Pay-to-play” violations
• “Gatekeeper” cases against accountants and
  auditors.  For example, the SEC brought a case against
  a big-four accounting firm for violating auditor
  independence rules, and brought a case against another audit
  firm for its role in the failed audits of three China-based
  companies.
• “Gatekeeper” cases against compliance
  professionals.  For example, the SEC brought a case
  against the chair of a company’s audit committee who
  learned of certain misconduct and failed to take meaningful
  action to investigate it or to disclose it to investors.
• “Gatekeeper” cases against lawyers
• Violations involving mortgage-backed securities and
  collateralized debt obligations
• Insider trading.  During FY 2014, the SEC brought
  charges against 80 people for insider trading.
• Deceiving brokerage customers with hidden fees
• Fraud on clients concerning trading prices
• Net capital rule violations
• Unregistered investment advisers
• Municipal securities frauds and violations, such as the
  failure to follow appropriate standards of disclosure in
  securities issuances by state and local governments. 
  For example, the SEC brought cases against a Chicago suburb
  and its comptroller, against the state of Kansas, and
  against a California school district.
• International investment frauds, including those that spread
  through social media and those that targeted, among others,
  immigrant communities.  During FY 2014, the SEC brought
  these kinds of cases against more than 20 parties, not
  including cases brought against related parties.
• Market manipulation and microcap fraud, including cases
  where stock promoters and others created false appearances
  of genuine interest in various stocks.
• Ponzi schemes
• Other kinds of frauds and violations

If you are considering whether to report a fraud to the SEC
and would like more information about the SEC whistleblower
reward program, please click
here.  You can view a
copy of the SEC press release by clicking
here.

* * *

About the Pickholz Law Offices LLC

The Pickholz Law Offices LLC is a law firm that focuses on
representing clients involved with investigations conducted by
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, and other
securities regulators.

The Pickholz Law Offices has represented employees, officers,
and others in SEC whistleblower cases involving financial
institutions and public companies listed in the Fortune Top
10, Top 20, Top 50, Top 100, Top 500, and the Forbes Global
2000. We were the first law firm ever to win an SEC
whistleblower award for a client on appeal to the full
Commission in Washington. Inside Counsel magazine named this
achievement one of the five key events of the SEC
whistleblower program. Examples of the
Firm’s SEC whistleblower cases are available here.

In addition to representing SEC whistleblowers, since 1995 the
Firm’s founder, Jason R. Pickholz, has also represented many
clients in securities enforcement investigations conducted by
the SEC, FINRA, the U.S. Department of Justice and US
Attorney’s Offices, State authorities, and more. Examples of
some of the many
securities enforcement cases that Mr. Pickholz has been
involved with are available here.

You can see what actual clients have had to say about The
Pickholz Law Offices by going to the
Client Reviews page on our website or by clicking here.

How to Contact the Pickholz Law Offices LLC

If you would like to speak with a securities lawyer or SEC
whistleblower attorney, please feel free to call Jason R.
Pickholz at 347-746-1222.

The Pickholz Law Offices remains open and will be fully
operational through teleworking while we all grapple with this
terrible pandemic. We hope that all of our clients,
colleagues, friends, and their families remain safe and
healthy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has
been affected by COVID-19.