The SEC’s whistleblower program has been a significant success, with almost $400 million dollars having been awarded to a total of 70 whistleblowers through the program so far. If you are to file an SEC whistleblower claim, it is important you know how to maximize your chances of sharing in recovery.

Here are just a few tips for would-be SEC whistleblowers to keep in mind.

• Be sure to establish a violation: Do not begin with determining your eligibility for an award. First and foremost you should focus on establishing that a violation actually occurred, and that you have information the SEC will be interested enough in. The SEC receives thousands of whistleblower reports in a given year, and it has limited resource to be able to investigate. Do you actually have a tip that a) concerns a violation serious enough to warrant further investigation and b) actually contains supportive evidence?
• Determine eligibility: You can start thinking about your eligibility for an award after you’ve determined you have a claim that will interest the SEC. You’ll need to make sure you have evidence of a material violation, and you will have had to have let 120 days pass since initially reporting the violation internally. The information you provide the SEC must also be unique and substantially helpful in either launching an investigation or assisting an ongoing one.
• Act quickly: When you discover a violation, it is important to be prompt with all of your reporting if you wish to have any chance of sharing in a recovery. Otherwise the SEC will not believe you have been serious about wishing to put a stop to the wrongdoing.
• Work with an attorney: You should always work with an attorney when blowing the whistle, but especially when your goal is to file a claim with the SEC. A whistleblower attorney will understand the rules associated with the SEC’s program and the process for submitting a claim.

For more information about the steps you should take if you wish to file an SEC whistleblower claim, contact a reliable attorney at Kardell Law Group today.