WASHINGTON, DC, March 10, 2021 – The US Securities and Exchange Commission today awarded $1.5 million to a whistleblower represented by Phillips & Cohen LLP.
The whistleblower, who has chosen to remain anonymous, provided the SEC with detailed information about securities law violations by the whistleblower’s employer, identified witnesses for the SEC to interview and assisted with the investigation in other ways.
“Our client reported concerns about the misconduct internally and was ignored,” said Erika Kelton, a whistleblower attorney and partner with Phillips & Cohen. “This is why the SEC whistleblower program is so important. Without the information provided by our client, it is unlikely that the SEC would have uncovered the misconduct or that the misconduct would have stopped.”
Phillips & Cohen’s client expressed appreciation to the SEC for the award and for investigating the matter.
“Thank you to the SEC Office of the Whistleblower and the enforcement division,” the whistleblower said. “I am very happy that the matter has been resolved.”
This is the eighth SEC whistleblower award that Phillips & Cohen has won for a client – more than any other law firm. This includes a whistleblower award of more than $32 million, which is one of the largest SEC awards made.
Read the SEC announcement, “SEC awards approximately $1.5 million to whistleblower.”
How the SEC whistleblower program works
Individuals who know about securities law violations may file a whistleblower claim with the SEC under a whistleblower program established by the Dodd-Frank Act. The whistleblower’s information must be original, timely, credible and lead to a successful enforcement action.
The law provides protection against job retaliation, confidentiality and rewards for SEC whistleblowers.
When monetary sanctions by the SEC exceed $1 million in a whistleblower case, whistleblowers are awarded 15% to 30% of the amount collected as a reward.
About Phillips & Cohen LLP
Phillips & Cohen is the nation’s most successful law firm representing whistleblowers. The firm’s cases have helped recover more than $12.8 billion in civil settlements and criminal fines. Phillips & Cohen represents whistleblowers in SEC whistleblower claims as well as qui tam lawsuits and the whistleblower reward programs of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Internal Revenue Service. Its roster includes the founding Chief of the SEC Office of the Whistleblower as well as former government prosecutors and attorneys with decades of experience representing whistleblowers. www.phillipsandcohen.com