The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
On July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act became law. The Act allows whistleblowers to assist the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in policing fraud, and provides monetary awards and anti-retaliation provisions to incentivize and protect those reporting violations of the securities laws to the SEC.
Under the Act, the SEC will pay a whistleblower 10% to 30% of SEC sanctions in excess of $1 million. To receive payment, the whistleblower must provide the SEC with information, unknown to the SEC, and derived from the whistleblower’s independent knowledge or analysis.
The SEC will also pay an award if the information leads to enforcement actions by other governmental organizations, including the U.S. Department of Justice, another federal agency, a self-regulatory organization, or a state attorney general. The SEC will pay whistleblowers who may have been securities law violators themselves, unless they are criminally convicted. Whistleblowers may be eligible for cooperation agreements that can limit their liability.
The Act also protects whistleblowers by creating a federal protection against employer retaliation, and allows whistleblowers to present the information and claim incentive payments anonymously, by acting through counsel, until right before the incentive payment in sought.
Our firm’s attorneys’ decades of experience prosecuting class as well as his experience representing whistleblowers make WMP Law well suited to represent Dodd-Frank whistleblowers. Please visit our Whistleblower FAQs for answers to your questions about whistleblower rights and whistleblower law.
Alternatively, feel free to contact us to discuss your case.
Important note about the information on this page:
This summary is for informational purposes only and does not constitute specific legal advice. Nor is this summary intended to create, and its receipt does not create, an attorney-client relationship. Please read our disclaimer.