CFTC Hands Out $45 Million Award to Group of Whistleblowers

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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently awarded a group of whistleblowers more than $45 million for helping the agency identify fraudulent activity.

Representatives of the CFTC said that this extraordinarily high payout, which represents a substantial increase from the awards granted in past years that tended to be smaller in scope, are evidence the agency is getting tips that allow it to be effective in finding and stopping corporate wrongdoing.

The CFTC did not release information about the whistleblowers, including how many whistleblowers shared in the award or what specific type of wrongdoing their tips helped the regulators uncover.

CFTC whistleblower program

The CFTC whistleblower program has not been as widely used or promoted as the SEC’s whistleblower program, but does represent an opportunity for people aware of wrongdoing in their company to provide the information to the federal government and be awarded for their tips. Under the program, whistleblowers are able to receive between 10 and 30 percent of monetary sanctions that arise from their information — the same as in the SEC program.

Before 2018, the CFTC had only issued four whistleblower awards for a total of less than $11 million. But within a month’s span this year, the agency granted three more whistleblower awards at more than $75 million total.

The whistleblower program has also expanded in scope in addition to the number and value of awards it’s giving out. In July, the CFTC announced it provided an award to a whistleblower living in another country for the first time.

If you are aware of wrongdoing within your company and have information you can share with federal agencies like the CFTC, speak with an experienced Dallas whistleblower attorney at Kardell Law Group.

By Steve Kardell | Published October 29, 2018 | Posted in Fraud, Whistleblower Litigation | Tagged $45 Million Award, Dallas attorney, whistleblower award

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