If you have recently become aware of securities violations within your company or you suspect possible fraudulent activities and aren’t sure what you should do, reporting the information you have to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can be your best option.
Not only will you help put a stop to investment schemes, but you will also open up the door to becoming a financially rewarded whistleblower, which could have a dramatic impact on your life.
Although the financial awards are tempting, many would-be whistleblowers hold themselves back from reporting to the SEC due to the risk of retaliation. The Dodd-Frank Act and Sarbanes-Oxley Act both contain specific provisions that protect whistleblowers from retaliation, however.
This includes whistleblowers who don’t work for the company in question but have information regarding securities violations and are being pressured into keeping it quiet. The laws, however, don’t always prevent fraudsters from retaliating against whistleblowers. For this reason, the SEC allows whistleblowers to remain anonymous when they are represented by an SEC whistleblower lawyer.
Your identity will be protected unless or until the SEC is ready to issue your whistleblower reward. At that time, the commision will need to know your identity but will rarely, if ever, make your identity public.
Providing a tip to the SEC doesn’t make you automatically eligible for a whistleblower award. There are specific criteria that need to be met in order to qualify. These include the following:
If all of those requirements are met, you will be entitled to approximately 10 to 30 percent of the total amount recovered in your case.
When you’re considering becoming a whistleblower, having a qualified SEC whistleblower lawyer at Meissner Associates by your side can only benefit your case. You can visit our website or give our office a call at 1-866-764-3100 to set up your confidential tip assessment as soon as possible.
