SEC Whistleblower Program Gaining Steam, But Too Late for Alayne Fleischmann

“Had Alayne Fleischmann participated in the SEC’s Whistleblower program, she could have received a percentage of the $13 billion fine (JPMorgan ultimately agreed to pay) and her job would have been protected,” said Jordan Thomas, chair of the whistleblower representation practice at [prior firm]. Unfortunately for Alayne Fleischmann, the program was not in operation until 2012 and even then was not widely known.

Alayne Fleischmann’s plight is distressingly familiar. A recent SEC report notes that after identifying potential illegal activity to internal compliance people, over 80 percent of the SEC’s whistleblowers then were required to raise the issue to the SEC. “This says that companies are not paying proper attention to their whistleblowers,” Jordan says. “They need to take if more seriously.”