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The recent conviction of Theranos COO Sunny Balwani closed a chapter that began a few years ago when employees at the company noticed something was very, very rotten in Elizabeth Holmes’ biotech startup. That initial realization set these employees down a path most of us will never tread–but those who do have changed history, saved lives, and stopped fraud.
These Theranos employees brought government attention to the fraud taking place partially through the whistleblower provisions under the Securities Exchange Commission. If not for their brave actions Theranos would have most certainly wreaked more damage than it did.
In recent years, a string of whistleblowers have exposed corporate malfeasance that had otherwise fallen under the radar. This has particularly been the case in the world of financial fraud, where, until recently, the SEC was an agency asleep at the switch. This created a Wild West of Enrons and Madoffs running amok. Enter the whistleblower. The Dodd-Frank Act created an SEC whistleblower rewards program under which successful whistleblowers can receive a 10-30% cut of any SEC recovery. In the decade since the program launched, whistleblowers have led the agency to recover roughly $5 billion, re-energizing this once moribund enforcer.
There are other examples of how effective whistleblower reward programs can be in recouping...
; ; ; agreed to pay $17.07 million to settle federal allegations of illegal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices on Friday, marking the Justice Department's first resolution unde...