Top Whistleblower Attorney Applauds Postponement of Vote to Change SEC Whistleblower Program
Stephen Kohn, SEC whistleblower attorney and partner at Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, was recently quoted in Financial Advisor, concerning the SEC’s proposed changes to its whistleblower program.
From Financial Advisor, “SEC Cancels Vote to Change Whistle-Blower Program As Opposition Mounts”:
“We welcome the postponement of the October 23rd meeting,” said Stephen M. Kohn, chairman of the National Whistleblower Center and founding partner of Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto, a Washington, DC-based law firm that has specialized in whistle-blower cases since 1999. “It is vitally important that the SEC understands all of the issues and gets this rulemaking right.”
Kohn said the SEC’s proposed 10% cap on large whistle-blower rewards above $30 million “will discourage potential whistle-blowers in many of the largest or most important financial fraud cases. The cap would send the wrong message to both fraudsters and employees contemplating taking the risk of blowing the whistle on major corporate and financial fraud.”
“This is good news for whistle-blowers. The proposed rule changes could undermine the highly successful SEC whistle-blower program. At stake is the future of the SEC’s ability to effectively use whistle-blowers to police securities fraud and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” Kohn said.
