Guidance Through Form TCR, Investigative Stages, Monitoring,
WB-APP Submissions, and Award Appeals
Freiberger Haber LLP guides whistleblowers through every stage of the SEC Whistleblower Program, including preparing and submitting Form TCR, navigating investigative stages, monitoring developments, filing WB-APP award applications, and handling appeals, while ensuring confidentiality and strategic protection at each step. The SEC Whistleblower Program empowers individuals in the U.S. and abroad to report securities fraud, with eligible whistleblowers earning between 10% and 30% of the monetary sanctions the SEC collects when their information leads to a successful enforcement action.
At Freiberger Haber, we help clients come forward anonymously and effectively, enabling them to protect investors, hold wrongdoers accountable, and potentially be rewarded for doing the right thing. Among the types of common violations of the federal securities that the firm assists whistleblowers in reporting are:
Financial reporting and accounting fraud
FCPA bribery and internal‑controls violations
Insider trading and market manipulation
Ponzi schemes and offering frauds
Materially misleading public disclosures
Broker‑dealer and investment adviser misconduct
Protecting Those Who Report Securities Fraud
The SEC Whistleblower Program, created under the Dodd‑Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, encourages individuals to report violations of the federal securities laws by offering substantial monetary awards and robust protections. The program empowers whistleblowers—both in the United States and abroad—to provide information about securities fraud, accounting misconduct, insider trading, FCPA violations, market manipulation, and other unlawful activity.
How We Approach SEC Whistleblower Matters
The SEC provides some of the strongest whistleblower protections in federal law:
Anonymity: A whistleblower may report anonymously if represented by an attorney. In many cases, the SEC does not learn the whistleblower’s identity until the award is issued.
Confidentiality: The SEC strictly protects the identity and information of whistleblowers and does not disclose identifying details except when required in limited legal circumstances.
Anti‑Retaliation: Employers are prohibited from retaliating against whistleblowers. Victims of retaliation may bring a lawsuit for reinstatement, double back pay with interest, and attorney’s fees.
-
Individuals, including non-U.S. citizens
-
Employees
-
Executives
-
Professionals
-
Board members
-
Clients, customers, and competitors
-
Industry experts
-
Financial analysts
Frequently Asked Questions
Any individual, or group of individuals, may qualify as an SEC whistleblower. The program places no restrictions on citizenship, job title, or seniority. Whistleblowers often include employees, consultants, contractors, auditors, vendors, and others with access to non‑public information. Congress designed the program to encourage reporting from anyone with valuable insights, regardless of their position within an organization.
