Our practice’s deep connection to the financial markets–both through structured finance disputes and our focus on antitrust disputes relating to the financial markets–leaves us well positioned to represent whistleblowers in that area.

We represent whistleblowers before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and advise whistleblowers on the protections state and federal law provides to whistleblowers.

SEC Whistleblower Reward Program

The Securities Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Whistleblower Program was designed to provide monetary incentives to individuals to come forward and report possible violations of the federal securities laws to the SEC. Read more about the SEC Whistleblower Program here.

CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, and the CFTC Whistleblower Program was designed to provide monetary incentives to individuals to come forward and report possible violations Commodity Exchange Act to the CFTC. Read more about the CFTC Whistleblower Program here.

AML Whistleblower Reward Program

In 2021, a new whistleblowing program was passed as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA). The new program is an important step for anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement, and provides for mandatory awards for whistleblowers who bring forward information about violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. Read more about the AML Whistleblower Program here.

DOJ Corporate Whistleblower Award Pilot Program

In 2024, the Department of Justice launched launched a three-year Corporate Whistleblower Award Pilot Program, designed to incentivize and reward certain individuals who report corporate wrongdoing not otherwise covered by the existing whistleblower programs. Read more about the DOJ Pilot Program here.

Filing a Whistleblower Complaint

The process for filing a whistleblower complaint and award application is very similar under both the SEC and CFTC Whistleblower programs. The new AML Whistleblowing Program, administered by FinCEN, was modeled off the very-successful SEC program, and, when rules are eventually promulgated to guide the new program, it is likely to follow a similar structure. Read more about filing a whistleblower complaint here.

Qui Tam Lawsuits & the False Claims Act

The federal False Claims Act provides another avenue for whistleblowers to report instances of fraud against the government. Suits brought by whistleblowers under this law are known as qui tam actions, which means that the whistleblower is suing on the government’s behalf. Read more about the qui tam lawsuits and the False Claims Act here.