Whistleblowers may report violations of federal securities laws through the SEC Whistleblower Program. Successful whistleblowers may recover between 10 and 30 percent of any penalty paid by the wrongdoer. The size of any award depends on the amount recovered and the value of the information provided by the whistleblower.
Various types of securities fraud can be reported through the SEC Whistleblower Program, including:
- Insider trading
- Making false statements in SEC filings or other public statements
- Omitting important information in SEC filings or other public statements
- Other violations of federal securities laws.
Whistleblowers must provide nonpublic information—known as “original information”—to the SEC. The original information requirement means that whistleblowers are more likely to be, but are not necessarily, company insiders.
Only individuals are eligible for awards under the SEC Whistleblower Program—companies and organizations are not eligible. To recover any award, the whistleblower must report conduct leading to a successful action that recovers at least $1 million.
Generally, whistleblowers who report violations under the SEC Whistleblower Program remain confidential.
The SEC Whistleblower Program prohibits an employer from retaliating against you for providing information about securities violations to the SEC.
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