SEC Whistleblower Fund Totals $450 Million

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission says it has set aside about $450 million for payments to outside whistleblowers whose information results in successful cases and penalties collected from companies or individuals.

The SEC set up the program in accordance with the financial overhaul law enacted in July. It follows intense public criticism of the agency for the breakdown that allowed Bernard Madoff's multibillion-dollar fraud to go undetected for 16 years, despite numerous red flags raised by whistleblowers.

A report issued Friday by the SEC shows it has put $451.9 million into a new fund to pay whistleblowers, which must have a minimum $300 million.

Comments

[DannyHaszard]

02:55 PM on 11/04/2010

Glaxo whistle-blower gets $96 million.


The case with the Zyprexa scandal is that Eli Lilly drug company pleaded guilty to criminal wrongs ("viva Zyprexa" campaign) the Zyprexa saga was rotten through and through.
Eight Lilly EMPLOYEES got millions each as supposed informant 'whistle blowers'.Lawyers on BOTH sides got millions and millions......most patient claimants who got sick are 'mentally challenged' and less able to advocate for themselves.
The Class action Lawsuits in the US had payouts of $85,000 BUT the lawyers got 45 percent and then the govt got most of the rest for having to take care of the victim/patients medical expenses.Soooo,,,,$85K turned into about $9,000 for Zyprexa claimants many had their food stamps and other state benefits taken away because of their *windfall profit* making them worse off in the end.
*
Daniel Haszard Zyprexa victim activist and patient who got diabetes from it. http://www.zyprexa-victims.com

[msjimmied]

10:45 PM on 11/01/2010

"check out the KRE Regional Banking ETF: it has a short interest of 50 million which happens to be over 15 times its daily volume, and about 7 times it outstanding stock."

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/top-25-most-shorted-stocks-october-15

Where's my money, that didn't take me more than a few minutes, and that's today's article!

[msjimmied]

10:40 PM on 11/01/2010

It's been an unending crime wave on Wall Street for years, and they are offering money to someone to speak up? Honey, you'd do good just dealing with what's right in front of your snout for starters. These pathetic attempts to show they are serious fools nobody! Tell you what, just give it to this board and we'd find you all kinds of stuff you should be looking at by tomorrow morning!

[cornel]

08:41 AM on 11/01/2010

That helps a lot, if you do not prosecute the culprits (check out case against AIG, Goldman etc..) !

[jdoeremi]

07:58 AM on 11/01/2010

While I support the fund allocation, I also wish the SEC applies the whistleblowing funds beyond Wall Street such as Medicare fraud, Farmers who are already multi-millionaires that continue to enrich themselves by receiving scandalously huge amounts of government susidies to this day for decades while paying desperate foreign workers below or close to minimum wages, Offshore shell companies that adopt "exotic" accounting practices with Swiss bank accounts that enjoy the privacy and bank secrecy laws from Switzerland without the inconvenience of traveling to that country to hide undeclared assets, income and woefully reduced taxes due (frequently at or close to zero taxes) as trained by the legal community who peddle asset protection bootcamps. Who needs to go to banks in Switzerland when you can conveniently cross the street and go to a local branch here in the U.S. that provide the same anonymity? 'Mighty useful particularly when the owner of the shell company is currently a sitting member in the U.S. congress. It could also mean surrogates who move enormous amounts of illegal money for politicians are incentivized to do the right thing. I know it's wishful thinking for now because the SEC will have instant and powerful enemies from both chambers - democrats and republicans alike who are interested in putting an end to this. I also believe the SEC can stretch their intellectual muscle and let the crooks save face to stop government funds and tax payer money from going down the drain.

[mrcontinental]

04:12 AM on 11/01/2010

Offer immunity and cash and you might get some takers.

[cornel]

08:45 AM on 11/01/2010

Better would be confiscation of all assets private or other if you get caught. You know like in Brazil and many other countries.

[mrcontinental]

09:20 AM on 11/01/2010

Punishing white collar criminals in the USA? Are you serious? You have a better chance dropping the obesity rate in Mississippi.

[toron]

02:06 AM on 11/01/2010

only 450 million, wall st is corrupt to the core, 450 billion maybe a start

[Moxo]

10:13 PM on 10/31/2010

Oh you just know the GOBP/Apology Party of America will do everything they can to stop the funding of that fund!!

[depasquale5]

07:20 PM on 10/31/2010

Stop with the long posts. It is selfish. Blog somewhere else. Finally some action against these crooks!

[b525]

02:37 PM on 10/31/2010

Almost all the bank, auto, finance, real estate and other industry failures over the last 3 years, which have heavily damaged the American and world economy, can be largely attributed to lax regulation and letting a few industry giants monopolize different sectors of the economy. These sectors include banking, investing, auto, media, agribusiness, computers/software and on and on.

Now the media/internet giants are beginning to merge again. When will the governments of the world realize the economic/social threat caused by "too big to fail" and begin to ENFORCE and/or RE-DEFINE anti-trust laws which are designed to break up giant monopoly corporations.

With 50 states and 310 million people the U.S. should have 50 automakers competing to make green/high quality cars, not 3.

The American/world media is controlled by a small handful of multinational MEDIA GIANTS, this has the effect of watering down content and fills much of the airwaves with "fluff" programming. I guess you could call this the "infomercialization" of the media.

Much bad or "reality based" news internationally is censored and/or severely limited, such as news from Africa and southeast Asia. Most Americans have no idea what goes on in these parts of the world. Often when we do here international news it seems to involve some type of xenophobic stereotyping etc. that lacks depth.

The world is now experiencing high rates of deforestation, fisheries destruction, HIV infection, climate change effects, dam building/river destruction.......where's the news footage?

[LinkSync]

01:43 PM on 10/31/2010

So do I get any money if I step forward and tell the truth?

Citizens United was the first OPENLY VISIBLE, no longer hidden, shot fired in the war against free people everywhere.
The gloves are off and the battle lines are seen.

We the People are from now on LEGALLY and suposedly CONSTITUTIONALY under attack from and by....MONEY.

In the open.

There I said it.
I blew rthe whistle.

5 RepuliKans on the Supreme Kourt gave away our rights to the criminally insane.
Greedy Profiteers that know now Nation save the ACCOUNT are now legally able to spend whatever they want on defeating anyone that wants to regulate or curtail their greed.

If you think it was obsene this election cycle you aint seen NOTHING YET.
2012 will see a Niagra of money flowing to support the Right.

Clean and load your guns, because in a decade or so we will all know for sure I am correct and by then the head stomping, hand cuffing, mouth punching, bigoted, cannon fodder will be all lined up and ready to go as they build the barbed wire fences around our tent cities as they dress up in the SS uniforms and salute their ACCOUNT OWNERS.

Now, where is MY money?

[Angel Whitebird]

12:21 PM on 10/31/2010

We need whistle blowers to do the job of those who are too afraid to speak up..But do you know what 450 million dollars could do to those who really need it??..Leave money out of the equation when trying to do the right thing.

[depasquale5]

07:21 PM on 10/31/2010

An then there is reality. Americans like $.

[Angel Whitebird]

01:57 PM on 11/01/2010

Indeed..the greed feeds everybody's need!!

[Angel Whitebird]

12:01 PM on 10/31/2010

By all means .. do the right thing ..We need "whistleblowers" to blow these idiots out of the water..But leave the money out of the equation..Do you know what 450 million dollars would do for those who really need it??

[Skeptical Patriot]

09:30 AM on 10/31/2010

The problem with this approach is that once a regulator and the full force of the government is thrust upon an individual company, the litigation and business impact far outweighs simply paying off the government to go away regardless of the merit of the case. I have been involved in a couple of these instances that have cost millions after having the companies have spent millions defending themselves. In the end, the government has no accountability for its actions and an unlimited budget. Without an accountability framework that holds prosecutors/regulators to a very high standard, the system will become more and more like paying for "protection" rather than regulating behavior.

[Moxo]

10:15 PM on 10/31/2010

the litigation and business impact far outweighs simply paying off the government to go away regardless of the merit of the case.
-------

paying the government will be quite novel for those corporations who are used to receiving tax-free welfare from the government!

Companies like Exxon/Mobil, which received tax-REFUNDS due to their creative accounting these past few years of massive profit, will be up in arms!

[hellboundtrain]

04:33 AM on 10/31/2010

The reason that the SEC needs to uphold laws against the fraud of naked short selling is the intent of the practice is to destroy the value of the investment. This value destruction is bad for any market for it destroys the market itself. Millions have been wiped out because of this with billions or trillions lost! Market confidence is wiped out!

It doesn't matter one iota that some billionaires may have used this tool to make millions or billions, it is fraudulent by any person's measure. Can we get the laws enforced, Ms. Shapiro?

Fraud by any name stinks to high heaven and is illegal. Enforce the laws against them all!

[kauthon]

11:05 AM on 10/31/2010

True that, I love short selling but naked short selling is just people manipulating the market.

[hellboundtrain]

11:40 AM on 10/31/2010

Yes, short selling fine. It is the intent to screw things up with the naked short selling - the intent!