SEC Whistleblowers Given 15 New Notices of Covered Action

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 voluntarily provide the SEC with original information about securities violations or foreign bribed, leading to the successful enforcement action resulting in more than $1 million in sanctions.   The SEC posts these updates monthly, and individuals who seek to claim awards then have 90 days to apply for an award by submitting a completed form to the Office of the Whistleblower.

Here are some of the more important final rules of the SEC Whistleblower Program:

• Your information must relate to a possible violation of securities laws or a bribe of a foreign official.
• You must provide the information voluntarily—that is, before the government or a self-regulatory organization has asked you for the information.
• The information must be based on your independent knowledge or independent analysis, and not certain public sources.
• Your tip must cause the SEC to initiate a new investigation or contribute significantly to an ongoing investigation.
• You may qualify for a reward even if you report your concerns to the company internally, and the company then “self-reports” the information to the SEC.
• The SEC might increase your reward if you first report your information through internal channels, but can reduce the reward if you impede the company’s internal investigation.

If you believe you have information about securities violations or foreign bribes, contact the nationally recognized whistleblower attorneys at Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP. Where appropriate, we can represent you in preparing and filing a strong submission that will maximize your chances of winning a substantial reward through the SEC Whistleblower Program. Your communications with us are confidential, and without charge or further obligation.