On Thursday, August 29, 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced an award of over $4 million to a whistleblower client of Phillips & Cohen LLP. According to the CFTC, the whistleblower provided information that led the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement to open an investigation and shared knowledge about the complex products and transactions involved in the misconduct. The CFTC acknowledged that “the violations would have been difficult to detect without the knowledge of an insider” and that the “whistleblower’s information played a key role in putting a stop to the misconduct.” Phillips & Cohen partner Erika Kelton represented the anonymous whistleblower. She has won the most awards for whistleblower clients under the Dodd-Frank Act.
“The significant award shows how the CFTC relies on whistleblowers with inside information to help uncover fraud and return money to harmed investors,” said Kelton. “I am proud to have represented the whistleblower and want to acknowledge the bravery they showed at risk to their livelihood.”
Congress created the CFTC Whistleblower Program as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Under the CFTC’s program rules, an individual who voluntarily provides original information that leads to an enforcement action resulting in over $1 million in monetary sanctions is entitled to receive an award between 10 to 30% of the money collected. CFTC whistleblowers also are entitled to confidentiality and protection from job retaliation.
Phillips & Cohen represents whistleblowers in CFTC whistleblower claims as well as qui tam lawsuits and the whistleblower reward programs of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service. Its roster includes the founding Chief of the SEC Office of the Whistleblower, the former Director of the CFTC Whistleblower Office, the attorney with the most awards under the Dodd-Frank Act, and former government prosecutors and attorneys with decades of experience representing whistleblowers.