Skip to content

Whistleblower Lawyer

WHAT A WHISTLEBLOWER LAWYER CAN DO FOR YOU

Generally speaking, a whistleblower lawyer helps people to provide information about frauds, crimes, or other prohibited acts.  Often whistleblower lawyers help people to provide this information to the government.  Some government agencies offer monetary awards to whistleblowers who provide information that enables the agency to bring a successful case against the wrongdoers.  Some government agencies that have their own whistleblower award programs are the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

gavel on chess board

A whistleblower lawyer may be able to assist you in deciding whether a particular government agency might be interested in hearing about something that you have discovered.  For example, without consulting a whistleblower lawyer, some people may not know that in addition to investigating frauds between a stock broker and a customer, the SEC investigates accounting frauds, ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes, insider trading, bribery of or improper payments made to foreign government officials (to gain an advantage in doing business in the foreign country), and more.

Each agency may have its own rules for when and under what circumstances it will give out a whistleblower reward.  For instance, under the SEC whistleblower award program, if someone provides the SEC with original information that helps the SEC to bring a successful action against a company and/or against one or more individuals, and if the SEC collects more than $1 million as a result of that action, then the SEC whistleblower is entitled to receive a monetary award.  However, the SEC’s Rules contain many additional requirements that must be satisfied for someone to be able to claim SEC whistleblower status and to claim an SEC whistleblower award.  The SEC’s Rules also contain some factors that may disqualify someone from being considered as an SEC whistleblower or from receiving an SEC whistleblower reward.  Generally speaking, if all of the requirements are satisfied, the SEC must give the SEC whistleblower(s) a reward of at least 10% and up to a maximum of 30% of the total amount collected by the SEC.  A whistleblower lawyer can explain the complicated SEC whistleblower Rules to you and help you to understand what you have to do to receive an SEC whistleblower award.

About Whistleblower Lawyer Jason Pickholz

jason pickholz whistleblower lawyer

Jason R. Pickholz, the founding partner of The Pickholz Law Offices, is one of the first whistleblower lawyers to win an SEC whistleblower award for a client.  He is also the first whistleblower lawyer ever to successfully convince the Securities and Exchange Commission to grant his client an SEC whistleblower award over an initial recommendation by its staff to deny any award.  This was the first time in the history of the SEC Whistleblower Award Program that the Commission overruled an adverse Preliminary Determination by its Claims Review Staff. (See official SEC Award here.)  Inside Counsel Magazine named this as one of the "Five milestones in the Dodd-Frank whistleblower reward program".  For related articles click here (NY Times) and here (Boston Business Journal).

Mr. Pickholz has served as the SEC whistleblower lawyer for employees, corporate financial officers and members of boards of directors of financial institutions, as well as employees of public companies in other sectors included in the Fortune Top 10, Top 20, Top 50, Top 100, and Top 500, who were looking to come forward with information concerning fraud at their companies. For examples of some of his cases, click here.

Mr. Pickholz is an author of the two-volume book Securities Crimes.  He has spoken on and chaired public panels, written many legal articles, appeared on television and radio, and served on boards of directors and other specialized committees.

In recognition of his achievements, Mr. Pickholz was elected by his peers to be a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation.  This honor is granted to only 1% of the New York State Bar Association membership.

You can find out more about The Pickholz Law Offices’ SEC whistleblower practice by clicking on the “SEC Whistleblowers” link on the right side of this page or by clicking here.

If you would like additional information about the SEC whistleblower award program, please click here.

Pickholz Law Logo
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.