March 29, 2022. March isn’t over yet, but the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has awarded seven whistleblowers approximately $12,125,000 for providing information supporting the CFTC’s enforcement efforts.
One whistleblower earned $10 million because they “voluntarily provided the Commission with original information that led to the successful enforcement of a covered action.” According to the heavily redacted order, the whistleblower came forth with “good background information, interesting color, and some context […] useful at the earliest stages of the investigation.” While the CFTC does not reveal what percentage of the recovery the whistleblower earned, the CFTC awards whistleblowers between 10-30% of the monetary sanctions they collect from wrongdoers. This information led the CFTC to draft the earliest round of subpoenas in that investigation.
The first whistleblowers in March 2022 were awarded approximately half a million dollars for information which helped “expand the scope of an existing investigation and lead the Division to other key evidence.” The order further details that the information “significantly contributed to the success of the Covered Action” and assisted the Commission in obtaining a settlement. The Commission found the information to be of “high quality, reliability, and specificity;” which other financial services whistleblowers should note when contemplating submitting Form TCR.
Most recently, four whistleblowers received $625,000 for “individually or jointly provid[ing] ongoing cooperation and assistance that helped support several of the charges against the defendants,” said the CFTC Acting Director of Enforcement. One whistleblower earned a higher award for providing the most cooperation and assistance to investigators. Some award claimants were denied as the information they provided was neither voluntary nor timely (responding to a CFTC investigation demand does not constitute whistleblowing activity which would qualify someone for an award).
The CFTC’s whistleblower program has been in like a lion and out like a lion this March. Whistleblowers providing reliable and detailed information to the CFTC can continue to “make it rain” in April. When in doubt, contact a whistleblower attorney for a confidential consultation to discuss potentially fraudulent financial schemes.
If you would like to report commodities, securities, or banking fraud, you can contact attorneys at Tycko & Zavareei LLP. Eva Gunasekera and Renée Brooker are former officials of the United States Department of Justice and prosecuted whistleblower cases under the False Claims Act. Renée served as Assistant Director at the United States Department of Justice, the office that supervises False Claims Act cases in all 94 United States District Courts. Eva was the Senior Counsel for Health Care Fraud. Eva and Renée now represent whistleblowers. For a free consultation, you can contact Renée at [email protected] (tel.: 202-417-3664) or contact Eva Gunasekera at [email protected]. You can also go to Tycko & Zavareei LLP’s website for whistleblowers to learn more at https://www.fraudfighters.net/.