The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an order in August denying a whistleblower award to an individual who provided the agency with evidence that a defendant in a previously filed SEC enforcement matter misrepresented their finances in order to evade sanctions. The putative whistleblower was denied an award even though their information helped the SEC recover funds that could be used to compensate harmed investors. The denial was based on a narrow interpretation of the SEC’s whistleblower rules that poses significant risks to the SEC’s ability to collect sanctions from wrongdoers for the benefit of harmed investors.
In the underlying enforcement matter, the defendant was found liable for securities laws violations and ordered to pay monetary sanctions including disgorgement of ill-gotten gains. After the defendant asserted their inability to pay based on their financial condition, however, the court waived the requirement to pay disgorgement and declined to impose a civil penalty. It appears that five years later, a whistleblower, who had not provided information in connection with the underlying enforcement matter, provided evidence to the SEC that the defendant’s assertions about their financial condition had been false. The SEC included the whistleblower’s information in its post-judgment supplemental briefing, and the court subsequently issued an Amended Judgment in which it reinstated the disgorgement and imposed a civil penalty on the defendant.
...Far-right commentator Candace Owens posted a new round of conspiracy claims on X in the past 24 hours, accusing Israel of orchestrating “false flags,” invoking Mossad in sweeping allegations, and ...