About Geoff Schweller
Geoff Schweller is the Public Relations and Communications Coordinator for Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto (KKC). Geoff graduated from Hamilton College in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. He is also the Assistant News Editor for Whistleblower Network News.
From the Whistleblower and Qui Tam Blog
New AML Whistleblower Law is A Game Changer in Enforcing Russian Sanctions
Stephen M. Kohn, Esq. writes for Reuters outlining the massive impact the new AML Whistleblower Improvement Act will have in fighting Russian corruption.
Whistleblower Receives $1.5 Million from SEC
On September 20, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a $1.5 million whistleblower award to an individual who voluntarily provided the agency with original information that led to a successful SEC enforcement action and a successful action by another agency. Through the SEC Whistleblower Program, the SEC grants qualified whistleblowers 10-30% of the funds collected in an SEC enforcement action that their whistleblower disclosure contributed to. Under the program’s related action provisions, whistleblowers are also entitled to awards when their information is successfully used in an action by another agency. According to the SEC, the “information [the whistleblower] provided to the Commission was valuable, on point, and conserved Commission resources.” The SEC also notes that the whistleblower did provide ongoing assistance to the other agency. The related action provisions were the subject of a recent rule change to the SEC Whistleblower Program. On August 26, the SEC voted ...
Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto Founding Partners Receive Washingtonian Top Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Awards
Michael D. Kohn, Stephen M. Kohn, and David K. Colapinto, the three founding partners of the whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn, & Colapinto, have received Top Lawyer Lifetime Achievement awards from Washingtonian magazine. The Top Lawyer Lifetime Achievement award recognizes lawyers who have been featured at least ten times in the past fifteen years on the magazine’s annual Top Lawyers list. Washingtonian composes its list based upon confidential surveys of Washington D.C. based lawyers. “We are especially grateful for this ‘Top Lawyer Lifetime Achievement’ recognition from the Washingtonian magazine,” said David Colapinto on behalf of the partners. “Thanks goes to all of our whistleblower clients who place trust in us as well as everyone at Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto who make representing courageous whistleblowers meaningful and exciting." Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto founded their whistleblower law firm in 1988 and have won numerous landmark decisions for whistleblowers as well as some of the largest financial rewards in history. Given their ...
IRS Whistleblower Receives $16.8 Million Award for Exposing Widespread Tax Evasion Scheme
Whistleblower attorneys Stephen M. Kohn and Dean Zerbe are pleased to announce that a joint client – who wishes to remain anonymous – received an IRS whistleblower award of $16.8 million. The whistleblower provided the IRS with information that led to an enforcement action against 86 high-wealth individuals who had engaged in a sophisticated illegal tax evasion scheme. The enforcement action resulted in nearly $70 million dollars being returned to the U.S. Treasury. “On behalf of our client and ourselves, we very much want to thank the new Director of the IRS Whistleblower Office, Mr. John Hinman, for this award for our client,” said Stephen M. Kohn, founding partner of the whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto. “A particular special thanks to Ms. Peggi Bockman of the Whistleblower Office for her hard and dedicated work on this award – and also thanks very much to Ms. Dawn Applebaum whose constant leadership and commitment to the ...
SEC Whistleblower Receives $500,000 Award for Initiating Investigation
On September 13, the U.S. Securities Exchange and Commission (SEC) issued a $500,000 whistleblower award to an individual who voluntarily provided original information that caused the SEC to initiate an investigation, resulting in an enforcement action. The SEC Whistleblower Program offers monetary awards to whistleblowers whose information leads to successful enforcement actions. Qualified whistleblowers are entitled to awards for 10-30% of the funds collected by the government. In determining the exact percentage to award a whistleblower, the SEC weighs a number of factors including the significance of the information, the degree of further assistance provided by the whistleblower, and the timeliness of the disclosure. In this case, the SEC noted that the whistleblower’s information “was significant, as it resulted in Commission staff initiating an investigation into misconduct” and that the whistleblower “submitted information and documents to Commission staff, participated in interviews with Commission staff, and helped Commission staff identify key ...
SEC Approves Rule Changes to Better Incentivize Whistleblowers
On August 26, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted two amendments to the rules of its highly successful whistleblower program. The amendments, which were widely supported by whistleblower advocates, allow the agency to better award whistleblowers who voluntarily provide the agency with original information that leads to successful enforcement actions. “The SEC hit a home run. The investors, the taxpayers, and the public are the biggest winners today,” said whistleblower lawyer Stephen M. Kohn, a partner in the firm of Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto. The first amendment alters a 2020 rule change which added language stating that the SEC has the discretion to consider the dollar amount of an award making an award determination. The new amendment clarifies that the agency only has this authority in instances where it is increasing the amount of an award, not in instances where it is decreasing an award size. “The Commission ...