Phillips & Cohen partner Sean McKessy expresses disapproval for proposed changes to the SEC’s whistleblower program in an article in Quartz. The proposed rules would impact the ability to reward whistleblowers who come forward with valuable information about fraud.
Whistleblower advocates … are up in arms. They argue the new rules will prevent people from bringing claims.
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Sean McKessy, the founding head of the SEC whistleblower program, told Quartz he could think of at least four successful tipsters under his tenure—out of a total of more than 30—who would not be paid under the proposed rules, either because they were outside analysts or they had not followed the exact bureaucratic procedures required when first submitting the paperwork. “There are several people who came forward on my watch to save their company from an Enron-like fate,” said McKessy, who now works as a lawyer for SEC whistleblowers. “If you know just one success story like that, why wouldn’t you just say it was worth it?”
Read the full article, “Wall Street’s watchdog wants to weaken its own whistleblower program, critics say,” on Quartz’s website.