Whistleblowers Are Here To Stay: Counseling Corporate Clients on Whistleblower Programs
A discussion of how U.S. regulators and law enforcement have increasingly embraced whistleblower programs as a tool for investigating and prosecuting corporate misconduct, with a highly successful program at the SEC and a new program rolled out by the Department of Justice earlier this year.
December 18, 2024 at 10:00 AM
9 minute read
From the revelations that Cambridge Analytica harvested data from tens of millions of Facebook users to profile U.S. voters, to the ongoing investigation of airplane safety issues at Boeing, whistleblowers have played a central role in bringing corporate misconduct to light. In the United States, regulatory and law enforcement agencies have embraced whistleblower programs as an essential tool in investigating corporate misconduct.
A highly successful program at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been accepting whistleblower tips for more than 14 years, and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently rolled out its own program, similar to the SEC’s. Several other agencies, including the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, also have whistleblower programs.
Further, in a host of enforcement actions, the SEC has adopted a broad view of its whistleblower protection mandate under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank Act”) and imposed significant penalties for company actions that might chill whistleblower reporting.
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J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
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Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
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Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
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