Maine SEC Whistleblower Attorneys

If you have information about possible stock manipulation, Ponzi schemes, or other federal securities law violations, you can provide this information to the SEC Office of the Whistleblower. If this information helps the SEC investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of these violations, you may be eligible to receive a financial reward for your help.

Because of the potential to receive sizeable compensation for your information and assistance, there’s a complicated process for serving as an SEC whistleblower. If you’re considering reporting possible SEC violations, consult an SEC whistleblower attorney experienced in handling enforcement actions. This is where the Silver Law Group and the Law Firm of David R. Chase can help. They are a strategic alliance of lawyers who work together to help SEC whistleblowers in Maine and the rest of the country. We understand how these SEC whistleblower cases work and can guide you through the investigation process. With our help, you can earn the most significant reward possible while protecting your legal rights.

The SEC Office of the Whistleblower’s financial reward program is fairly new. It started back in 2011 yet has led to significant enforcement actions. One of the more recent financial rewards was $28 million, which went to seven whistleblowers. Since 2011, SEC enforcement actions have resulted in more than $6 billion in financial remedies and more than $1 billion in whistleblower awards.

The reason the SEC offers a bounty to whistleblowers is because illegal financial activity is usually hard to catch.

To receive compensation for participating in the SEC’s whistleblower program, prospective Maine SEC whistleblowers must meet certain conditions. First, their information must help the SEC complete a successful enforcement action. Second, the enforcement action must result in the SEC recovering more than $1 million from the lawbreakers. The actual amount of the reward varies between 10% and 30% of the money the SEC recovers. Several factors affect this percentage, including the quality of the information and how it’s reported.

The information provided to the SEC by the whistleblower must help the SEC’s investigation and lead to more than $1 million in legal sanctions recovered from the wrongdoers. To do this, the information provided must meet the following three conditions:

• Significant: The more critical the information, the better. This usually means the more complicated the information is for the SEC to find, and the more details offered, the better.
• Original: The SEC needs first-hand information. This doesn’t mean the information must first get reported through an internal reporting system, but doing so could result in a more significant financial reward for the whistleblower.
• Timely: The information the SEC receives should be new and as recent as possible. A reward is still possible even if the information relates to wrongdoing, of which the SEC is already aware. Still, the whistleblower must give the information before the SEC starts an enforcement action investigation.

Whether the SEC whistleblower is from Augusta, Portland, or Bangor, the types of information can vary. From bribery to accounting fraud to Ponzi schemes, the information must relate to federal securities laws the SEC enforces. Other tips eligible for a reward include:

• Investment advisor fraud
• Hedge fund fraud
• EB-5 investment fraud
• Manipulation of securities markets
• Securities fraud
• Inadequate reporting procedures and systems

In addition to the complexity of reporting a tip to the SEC and getting a reward for that information, there are other challenges. One of the most difficult is retaliation. If a tip leads to an investigation, the company or business under investigation figures out who blew the whistle. It then retaliates against the whistleblower. There are legal protections to help prevent this, but they don’t always work because the whistleblower didn’t fully understand how to protect themselves.

This is why talking with the Law Firm of David R. Chase and the Silver Law Group is so important. Our legal team understands how the whistleblower program works because we have a former SEC prosecutor and Wall Street defense lawyer who handled these matters. Besides protecting you, we can also advise you on maximizing your potential reward. To set up a confidential, free consultation, call us at (800) 975-4345 or use our online contact form.