New York City Whistleblower Award

Potential whistleblowers often wonder if they are eligible for an SEC New York City whistleblower award.   To be precise, SEC whistleblower awards are granted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, not State or Local governments or agencies.  The SEC has jurisdiction throughout the country. Therefore, an SEC whistleblower does not have to live or work in NYC to be eligible for an SEC whistleblower award.

As a federal agency, the SEC can grant an award to anyone, anywhere in the United States.  You do not have to be an employee of a public company or financial institution in NYC, or even be a U.S. citizen or resident, to be eligible for an award.  The SEC has even given SEC whistleblower awards to foreign nationals.  Anyone who has information about a corporate or securities fraud at any U.S. public company or financial institution can report that information to the SEC through the SEC whistleblower program.

Three Main Prerequisites For An SEC New York City Whistleblower Award

There are three main prerequisites that must be met for an SEC New York City whistleblower award:

One: If an individual voluntarily provides original information to the SEC that leads to the SEC initiating an investigation, or that substantively enhances an existing investigation, that person may be qualified to collect an SEC New York City whistleblower award.

Two: In order to receive an SEC whistleblower reward, the SEC must not only open an investigation, but it must be “successful” in that action.  An “action” is deemed “successful” if it results in a settlement, a court judgment, or a judgment by an SEC administrative law judge (an SEC in-house judge).

Third: For an New York City whistleblower award to become available, the SEC must obtain more than $1 million in the successful action and any related actions.

Additional Rules And Requirements

Becoming a whistleblower and collecting an SEC whistleblower award, however, often requires more than just providing information and then waiting on the SEC.  Once you’ve chosen to provide information to the SEC, you may need to:

• File specific whistleblower information forms;
• Discuss your information with SEC staff;
• Apply for a reward from the SEC; and
• Other things that may be required under the SEC’s whistleblower rules, which are quite complicated and extensive.

If you have information that you think the SEC would be interested in knowing about and are considering becoming an SEC whistleblower, it might benefit you to consult with an experienced SEC whistleblower law firm to understand if you meet the rules and requirements necessary for an SEC whistleblower award.

How Much Is An SEC Whistleblower Award?

If all of the rules and conditions are met, and the SEC garners over $1 million for a successful action(s) based on a whistleblower(s) information, then the Dodd-Frank Act instructs the SEC to distribute a monetary award to the whistleblower(s) of between 10% - 30% of what it collected.  This has resulted in some sizeable award payments.

An Experienced SEC Whistleblower Lawyer

The founder of The Pickholz Law Offices, Jason R. Pickholz, was the first SEC whistleblower lawyer ever to win an award on appeal to the full Commission in Washington, D.C.  This groundbreaking achievement was recognized as a milestone of the SEC whistleblower program by Inside Counsel magazine.

Mr. Pickholz is the co-author of the two-volume book Securities Crimes.  In 2013, he added a comprehensive chapter on the SEC whistleblower program to the book.  You can view the book’s Table of Contents on Thomson Reuters’ website or by clicking here.

Mr. Pickholz is also a Fellow of The New York Bar Foundation.  The Fellows are limited to 1% of the 74,000 lawyers in the New York State Bar Association.  Fellows are nominated by a Director of the Fellows’ Board of Directors, or by a member of the Fellows, and are elected by the full Board.  You can click here if you are interested in learning more about the Fellows.

For more information about Mr. Pickholz and The Pickholz Law Offices, please click on any of the links on this page.

How To Contact Us

If you are considering becoming an SEC whistleblower and would like to speak with an SEC whistleblower attorney, please give us a call at 347.746.1222.

Your initial one-hour conversation with Mr. Pickholz is free of charge.  You are under no obligation to hire Mr. Pickholz or The Pickholz Law Offices when your initial conversation is concluded.