August 21, 2018
Whistleblowers risk so much when they report fraud to the SEC. However, reporting the fraud is the first of many steps and the start of a very prolonged wait.
Indeed, from tip-to-award Whistleblowers can wait 5+ years. During this long wait the Whistleblower could be jobless, require legal assistance, and a host of other time consuming and costly effects of blowing the Whistle.
To help Whistleblowers not lose faith, encourage more Whistleblowers to come forward, and reduce the backlog of claims the SEC should consider paying Whistleblowers a small percentage of their award immediately upon issuance of a preliminary determination.
This would help the Whistleblower obtain the necessary funds needed to deal with Whistleblower fallout and also avoid unnecessary waits for appeals or final determination. (Especially if an action involved 2 or more Whistleblowers and one Whistleblower may accept the preliminary determination while the other Whistleblower(s) appeal the preliminary determination causing the first Whistleblower to wait significantly longer.)