SEC Whistle-Blower Program Starts Paying Off For Agency, Tipsters

“The full tidal wave of cases is more likely to be in year four, five — that’s when you’ll see the full effect,” said Jordan Thomas, a whistle-blowers’ attorney at law firm [prior firm] in New York.
Thomas, who helped set up the program before leaving the SEC, said it could “revolutionize” securities enforcement. Wall Street’s cops need good intelligence, he said, and insiders can put investigators on the right paper trail or provide firsthand witness accounts of wrongdoing.

Even senior executives have divulged internal secrets, their attorneys said. Many want to keep their jobs but have suffered retaliation after coming forward.

“They like their life, but they know something that they can’t pretend they don’t know,” Thomas said. Behind his desk hang posters from classic whistle-blower movies: “The Insider” and “All the President’s Men.”