Ponzi schemes continue to flourish. Every year, people lose billions of dollars in schemes that were too good to be true. Somewhere, someone knows the truth. But they may be afraid to speak up.
Since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2011, the SEC has offered a financial incentive to whistleblowers. The SEC encourages people to speak up if they know about a Ponzi scheme or other securities law violation and may pay a whistleblower a reward for information about a Ponzi scheme.
When the SEC collects more than $1 million in administrative fines and other financial sanctions, the whistleblower can receive a reward of 10% to 30% of that sum. The reward is not taken from recovered investor funds.
Rewards for Whistleblowers Who Report a Ponzi SchemeWhen someone becomes aware of a Ponzi scheme, they may not know what to do next. But once the scheme has been uncovered, a person has one of two choices: keep quiet, or report it to the SEC.
If someone becomes aware that they are somehow assisting a Ponzi scheme and doesn't report it, they may later become enmeshed in the investigation. In other words, if you are not part of the solution, the government could consider you complicit in the schemes, and possibly a willing participant. The SEC may consider it a mitigating factor that you reported the scheme as soon as possible.
Because it takes considerable courage to come forward, the SEC offers financial rewards for those who do by paying a percentage of all money recovered.
Getting the SEC’s Attention of a Ponzi SchemeThe SEC receives so many tips every year it does not have the staff or resources to follow up on them all. Therefore, your tip must be written and formatted so they will see it as credible, detailed and worth following up on.
Whistleblowers help save SEC staff time and resources when investigating a Ponzi scheme. Your information must be original, credible, and something that the SEC doesn’t already know about. If you are not the first individual to contact the SEC about this Ponzi scheme, you may still be eligible if you can offer additional information or assistance to the SEC, such as identifying key individuals in the scheme.
Before you contact anyone, speak with an SEC whistleblower attorney to learn about your legal options. They can advise you on the best way to proceed, and what to do next, even if you decide to proceed without legal representation.
There are several reasons to work with a securities law attorney to submit your information. In addition to staying anonymous, your attorney will review everything and ensure that everything is correctly written and formatted. A SEC whistleblower attorney understands the process of submitting a tip to the SEC. They can work with you to not only ensure that your submission is done correctly but help to maximize your whistleblower reward.
Once submitted, you'll receive a submission confirmation and a submission number for your records. The advantage of online submission is that you can submit additional information later with your original TCR submission number.
Why Become a Ponzi Scheme Whistleblower?Each person has a different perspective on the Ponzi scheme and different reasons for blowing the whistle. In many cases, they have a sense of righting a wrong they feel is necessary. People who become whistleblowers might be employees, vendors, or other individuals involved with the company running the Ponzi scheme. They may also be industry analysts or other individuals who understand what's happening based on their knowledge. A defrauded investor may also become a whistleblower.
Blowing the whistle on a Ponzi scheme helps the government stop the operation, freeze assets, and prevent further losses. They can then begin working on recovering investor funds through claw backs and return as much money as they can to the defrauded investors. Our attorneys are always available to answer questions about the SEC Whistleblower program and answers to frequently asked questions of the SEC is also available.
Retaining Experienced SEC Whistleblower AttorneysWhistleblowers help everyone by notifying the SEC of conduct that harms the investing public, while also earning financial compensation for themselves. Hiring experienced SEC counsel may greatly increase the probability that the SEC will initiate an investigation based on your information. If you wish to remain anonymous, you must be represented by an attorney, who will submit everything on your behalf.
Silver Law Group and the Law Firm of David R. Chase jointly have experienced SEC whistleblower lawyers, including a former SEC Enforcement attorney on the team, so you will always have guidance throughout the process. Our SEC whistleblower attorneys can help you if you have information regarding securities or investment fraud, violations of federal securities laws, false filings, market manipulation, or other misconduct. You must provide timely, credible, and original information or analysis to be eligible.
Contact us through our online form or at (800) 975-4345 for a consultation. Our attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. This means that it costs you nothing to hire us, and we collect our fees only if you receive an SEC bounty. Because we get paid when you do, we have the incentive to help you collect the maximum award available.