NY SEC Whistleblower Reward
Potential whistleblowers often are not even aware that they could be eligible for an NY SEC whistleblower reward. Some of the confusion may be because an NY SEC whistleblower reward is not granted by the State of New York or New York City. These awards are granted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
The SEC shield
The SEC is a Federal agency. It has jurisdiction throughout the country. Consequently, an SEC whistleblower does not have to live or work in New York to be eligible for an SEC whistleblower award.
In fact, under the rules of the SEC whistleblower program, SEC whistleblowers do not even have to live or work in the United States. Anyone who has information about a corporate or securities fraud at any U.S. public company or U.S. financial institution can report that information to the SEC and become an SEC whistleblower.
When people refer to an NY SEC whistleblower reward, they probably just mean an SEC whistleblower award that is granted to someone living or working in New York.
Three Important Requirements To Be Eligible For An SEC Whistleblower Reward
There are a lot of rules about SEC whistleblower awards, including rules that could disqualify someone from receiving an award. Those rules can get fairly complicated without the guidance of an experienced SEC whistleblower lawyer to guide you. However, there are three things that are worth noting at the outset.
First, to qualify for an SEC whistleblower award, an individual must voluntarily provide original information to the SEC about a fraud at a public company, or about a securities fraud or violation.
Second, simply providing information does not automatically qualify someone to receive an SEC whistleblower reward. The SEC must actually use the some or all of the information provided to it by the whistleblower. In practical terms, this means that the whistleblower’s information must lead to the SEC initiating an investigation, or it must contribute in a meaningful way to an existing investigation that the SEC is already conducting.
Furthermore, the SEC’s investigation must result in a “successful action.” Typically this means that the SEC must reach a settlement with the wrongdoer(s); receive a judgment against the transgressors from a federal court; or obtain an order against the perpetrators by an SEC administrative law judge.
Third, in addition to achieving a successful outcome to its investigation, the SEC must obtain more than $1 million in the settlement or action, and any related actions, in order for an award to be available to potential SEC whistleblowers.
