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.
Any federal securities fraud, or violation of the federal securities laws, might be of interest to the SEC and could lead to an SEC whistleblower program case. But obviously, each Administration is going to have its own “priority” cases that it is especially interested in hearing about from SEC whistleblowers.
For example, the SEC under the leadership of former Chair Mary Jo White had certain high-interest types of cases that it gave priority to. In 2018, the SEC under current Chair Jay Clayton has different types of cases that it considers to be high priority.
This does not mean that the types of cases that a prior Administration prioritized get ignored or abandoned by a new Administration. Since its inception, the SEC has always been interested in receiving credible information about serious securities frauds and violations.
Any securities fraud or violation could give rise to a valid SEC whistleblower program case.
SEC Chair Testifies Before Congress About Commission Priorities
Yesterday, SEC Chair Jay Clayton testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services.
During his testimony, Mr. Clayton informed the Committee about the SEC’s current priorities for Enforcement cases:
Going forward, Enforcement will continue to place a priority on misconduct that harms retail investors, such as offering frauds, Ponzi schemes, conflicts of interest and inappropriate or excessive fees.
Enforcement has also continued to focus its efforts on addressing cyber-related threats to investors and the financial markets.
(Testimony, pp. 7-8.) If you have credible information about one of these types of federal securities frauds, it might make for a good SEC whistleblower program case.
SEC Chairman Clayton's Testimony
Is It Worth It To File A Different Kind Of SEC Whistleblower Program Case?
Most likely yes.
Under Chair Clayton, the SEC has brought many other kinds of cases already, such as Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) cases, false statements cases, failure to supervise cases, and many more.
Just because Mr. Clayton did not mention a particular type of federal securities case during a small section of his much longer testimony does not mean that the SEC is not interested in hearing about it. It is not in-and-of itself a reason not to report it to the SEC, and reporting it could lead to an SEC whistleblower reward.
If you have legitimate information about any kind of federal securities fraud or federal securities law violation, the SEC will likely be interested in hearing about it. If you have any questions or concerns, you might want to discuss them with an experienced SEC whistleblower lawyer.
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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.
