November 08, 2016
FCPA Sanctions Jump to $1.6 Billion This Year, With Big Implications for Potential Whistleblowers
The year still has two months left to go, but already 2016 has seen more enforcement actions and far more fines collected under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) than in recent years. After bringing...
October 27, 2016
When sales pressure (like at Wells Fargo) forces employees to choose between their job and the law
It’s a choice nobody should ever have to make: break the law or lose your job. But that’s exactly the choice that companies like Wells Fargo force on their employees when they set unrealistic sales...
September 23, 2016
CFTC seeks money laundering info from whistleblowers
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is encouraging whistleblowers with information about money laundering to come forward, according to remarks by an agency enforcement official at a conference last...
September 13, 2016
Ex-SEC Whistleblower Office chief joins Phillips & Cohen
Sean X. McKessy, who served as chief of the Security and Exchange Commission Office of the Whistleblower for five years, has joined Phillips & Cohen LLP as a partner to represent whistleblowers. McKessy...
August 25, 2016
More states should consider creating reward programs for securities whistleblowers
Despite the rousing success of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s whistleblower reward program, just two states — Indiana and Utah — have created their own laws to pay whistleblowers...
August 15, 2016
SEC protects whistleblowers’ rights in severance agreements, stops ‘pretaliation’
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took forceful action last week to ensure that companies do not discourage employees from reporting potential violations of securities laws. BlueLinx, a building...
July 22, 2016
HSBC forex case highlights ‘front-running’ on Wall Street
Wall Street banks may expect to see more prosecutions for “front-running” after two HSBC foreign exchange managers were charged in a large currency trade scheme this week. Front-running occurs when...
July 20, 2016
Citigroup SEC fine is a warning to other banks that delay reporting coding errors
Seemingly minor violations of securities laws can have significant consequences and generate big fines. Just ask Citigroup Global Markets, which agreed last week to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission...
June 29, 2016
‘Sheriff of Wall Street’ Preet Bharara: Insiders are needed to stop corruption
One of the country’s toughest prosecutors highlighted the value insiders can provide in successfully prosecuting corruption and other illegal activity. US Attorney for the Southern District of New York...
May 24, 2016
CFTC whistleblower program chief says his next focus is strengthening whistleblower protection
In April, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission paid out a $10 million whistleblower award, by-far the largest whistleblower award in program history. Now the head of the CFTC whistleblower program...