Report Fraud // SEC Whistleblower Awards & Eligibility Inquiries
Do you have information about actual or suspected securities fraud, corporate misconduct, malfeasance or other wrongdoing?
If you have information about a company, entity, or individual suspected of fraud, please complete the quick contact form below, e-mail [email protected], or call us directly at (215) 792-6676, Ext. 805.
Questions about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Whistleblower Program or SEC whistleblower awards?
Since the Whistleblower Program’s inception, the SEC has awarded approximately $1.2 billion to individuals whose information and cooperation assisted the SEC in bringing successful enforcement actions.
The SEC’s Whistleblower Program was created by Congress to provide monetary incentives for individuals to come forward and report possible violations of the federal securities laws to the SEC. The Office of the Whistleblower was established to administer the Whistleblower Program.
Whistleblowers may be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide original, high-quality information (i.e., information derived from your independent knowledge, NOT facts derived from publicly-available information) about the possible violation of the federal securities laws that has occurred, is ongoing or is about to occur AND which leads to a successful SEC enforcement action, resulting in an order of monetary sanctions exceeding $1 million, then you MAY be eligible for an SEC whistleblower award of between 10% and 30% of the monetary sanctions collected in actions brought by the SEC and related actions brought by certain other regulatory and law enforcement authorities.
All payments are made out of an investor protection fund established by Congress that is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. No money has been taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards. By law, the SEC protects the confidentiality of whistleblowers and does not disclose information that might directly or indirectly reveal a whistleblower’s identity.
What Kind of Wrongful Conduct Is of Interest to the SEC?
Some examples of the kind of conduct about which the SEC is interested include:
- Ponzi scheme, Pyramid Scheme, or a High-Yield Investment Program
- Theft or misappropriation of funds or securities
- Manipulation of a security’s price or volume
- Insider trading
- Fraudulent or unregistered securities offering
- False or misleading statements about a company (including false or misleading SEC reports or financial statements)
- Abusive naked short selling
- Bribery of, or improper payments to, foreign officials
- Fraudulent conduct associated with municipal securities transactions or public pension plans
- Other fraudulent conduct involving securities