Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) introduced a bill last year to enact a so-called “Whistleblower Improvement Act (H.R. 2483),” which would require employees to alert their management before blowing the whistle on corporate misconduct to regulators at the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).  The Grimm bill presents a direct threat to [...]

The New York Post reported on February 12, 2012, that a corporate insider has filed a whistleblower tip with the SEC alleging that an employee of a leading proxy advisory firm has been selling information about upcoming shareholder votes to proxy solicitation firms, which assist corporations in convincing large shareholders to vote their shares in support [...]

The FCPA blog, a blog dedicated to providing news and views about the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), reported today that Qualcomm was facing an investigation by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) relating to whistleblower allegations made in December 2009.  Qualcomm is an international wireless technology and [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a press release earlier this week announcing that it had agreed to a settlement with a multi-billion dollar hedge fund advisory firm to settle insider-trading charges, just days after the SEC brought suit against the firm.  Diamondback Capital Management LLC has agreed to pay more than $9 million [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Office of the Whistleblower recently posted 15 new Notices of Covered Action (“NOCAs”) on the Commission’s website.  The SEC posts NOCAs when a company is penalized by monetary sanctions in excess of $1 million.  The Dodd-Frank Act created the SEC Whistleblower Program, which provides monetary awards to individuals who [...]

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced in a press release last week that it was bringing charges against eight former executives and agents of Siemens AG and its subsidiaries for allegedly engaging in a decade-long scheme to bribe senior Argentine government officials to secure, implement and enforce a $1 billion contract with the Argentine government [...]

Marketwatch.com reported last week that Mary Schapiro, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), sent a letter to Representative Barney Frank, Democrat from Massachusetts, asking that lawmakers hold off on making changes to the new whistleblower program until there is proof that it is causing problems.  The letter came as the House Financial [...]

The Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Mary Schapiro, recently sent a letter to Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), ranking members of the Senate banking committee’s subcommittee on securities, requesting an increase in the SEC’s authority to obtain monetary penalties from offenders.  Specifically, Ms. Schapiro asked for the following changes: [...]

In a decision that will be welcomed by Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) whistleblowers, the United States Tax Court ruled on Thursday in Whistleblower 14106-10W v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue that the court would allow individuals reporting serious tax underpayments under U.S.C. § 7623 to appeal IRS award determinations anonymously.  This is a very important holding: [...]

A newly published survey asked over 1,000 Americans questions regarding the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank”).  As part of its comprehensive program to ensure corporate accountability and compliance, the Dodd-Frank Act created important new whistleblower protections and incentive programs to reward and protect individuals who report violations of the [...]