For some reason, the press has latched on to the idea that they should “out” the name and position of the whistleblower who was awarded the $14 million last week by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the largest award of its kind. Today alone, I received three calls from major well known financial and business media reporters asking me if I knew who it was and if the case was mine. It is not my case and not my client, sorry about that.
Although information is circulating as to who this person may be, I explained the importance of that part of the SEC whistleblower program which does protect the name and identity of the whistleblowers who come forward to reveal major financial fraud. So even if I knew, I wouldn’t say. It affects the effectiveness and future of the entire program to keep this information private.
The fact is that the government knows far too little about the massive financial wrongdoings of our banks, hedge funds, equity lenders and financial representatives. The only way they find out what really happens beneath the surface is from insiders with detailed information and corroborative evidence. Without this information, the government can’t begin to deter this fraud which harms so many and creates the uneven playing field which encourages insider trading and false filings.
So now there is finally a vehicle for the whistleblower with information unknown to the government worth more than a million dollars. So whoever got the money should remain a secret.
