(FBI.gov)
If money is your motivation in reporting insider trading, some experts are saying don’t go right to the FBI, even if Michael Douglas urges you to. The actor appears in a recent FBI public service announcement referencing his character from Wall Street, Gordon Gekko, targeting financial fraud.
“Our economy is increasingly dependent on the success and the integrity of the financial markets. If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is,” he says in the spot, asking tipsters to contact their local FBI office.
But the Washington Post cites a whistleblower lawyer, who says you could miss out on cash rewards that way.
“If they just go to the FBI, they are probably going to get zero,” he explained. “The FBI’s not obligated to do anything for them.”
Instead, he says, if you find yourself in the position of an informant who wants money and not just to do the right thing, consult a lawyer and file a whistleblower claim with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Tipsters are entitled to 10% to 30% of any money the SEC collects if your info leads to any sanctions of more than $1 million.
“I’m not aware of any program of that sort within the FBI,” FBI spokesman William Carter said, while another agent said he just hopes tipsters are moved to report financial fraud without a reward.
“I’d like to see people be patriotic and just do the right thing instead of being motivated by money,” he said.
Michael Douglas’s advice in FBI ad could deny Wall Street tipsters cash reward [Washington Post]
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“I’d like to see people be patriotic and just do the right thing instead of being motivated by money,”
haha.
Here’s an idea, why not be motivated by both? Nobody is either 100% patriotic or 100% greedy.
I’m 100% greedy and 0% patriotic.
And that is why FBI spokesman William Carter doesn’t draw a paycheck, motivated solely by his patriotism.
At least in my imagination.
Can we just use sheer patriotism, with no payment, to feed, clothes, and house us? I didn’t think so.
Once a whistle-blower starts whistle blowing their job is about forfeit at that point. They will mysteriously be laid-off due to “the economy” and will struggle finding decent paying work.
I’ll feel patriotic and do the right thing without money as a motivation when my patriotic taxes suddenly stop revealing themselves on my paystubs
So you want something for nothing?
that appears to be what the FBI wants, yes
Didn’t the last guy to go to the SEC as a whistleblower get 10 years in prison instead of a reward?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Birkenfeld
So I guess you’ll get screwed regardless of which place you go to.
He broke the law and also filed a false tax return. Just because you turn others in does not clear you of your crimes.
(Too lazy. Didn’t read the linked article.) He didn’t even get a deal?
The thing is, being a whistleblower can have a negative effect on your career. Yes, I realize that there are protection laws, but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t still be on shaky ground with your employer and others in the same industry.
So, if someone is going to put their own earning power in jeopardy, I understand why they would want a reward.
Yeah, studies have shown that even people protected by whistleblower statutes tend to experience negative effects like having trouble advancing in their company or finding a new position. Sometimes it’s even hard to qualify for protection. It stinks, but there hasn’t been a good solution developed yet.
There’re a great article you can read Be Prepared Before You Blow the Whistle from the Sept/Oct 2010 issue of Fraud magazine.
Do the FBI get the 10% from SEC?
But isn’t being motivated by money the American way? So, really, they are being patriotic.
+1 Let the Free Market and the Invisible Hand work.
“I’d like to see people be patriotic and just do the right thing”
So how is contacting SEC less patriotic and right compare with contacting FBI?
At the position I am in now, I have caught a few bits that are obvious tax fraud, Unfortunately, none of it would be worth over 1 million so it wouldn’t be worth turning it in.
And worth nothing at all since the SEC doesn’t investigate tax fraud.
Sorry, the IRS has similar rules/rewards
They don’t require $1 million
I appreciate whistleblowers blowing whistles on the greedy who are greedy themselves.
Ain’t no shame, son, bills got to get paid!
Wow, I know nothing about this shit and ever *I* know you’re supposed to report it to the S.E.C.
LOL