Will the CFTC’s New Top Cop Usher in an Era of Increased Investigation and Related Rewards for Whistleblowers?
- February 21, 2025 by Pamela Coyle Brecht
- Federal False Claims Act, State False Claims Acts
On February 14, 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) signaled some “love” for whistleblowers and the future of the CFTC’s whistleblower program when announcing that Brian Young had been appointed as a new enforcement director. Young, whose career included a stint as a federal prosecutor, had most recently been the CFTC’s whistleblower chief. During nearly two decades with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Young had handled several high-profile cases involving schemes to manipulate domestic and foreign markets. The CFTC’s announcement included a commitment to “expand and scale our resources to help more victims than ever before and ensure the integrity of our markets in the name of justice.” Read more on Law360: CFTC Taps Ex-Whistleblower Chief As Enforcement Head.
During 2024 (the first year in which Young headed the whistleblower program), there were14 final orders/ award Determinations issued by the CFTC’s whistleblower office. Of these, the CFTC granted, at least in part, 12 whistleblowers’ claims for an award, between 10% and 30% of the monetary sanctions collected by the CFTC in the particular action. The awards ranged from $1.25 million to $8 million, and many involved awards to multiple whistleblowers who the CFTC had concluded that each claimant had provided “original information” which “significantly contributed to the Division’s investigation.”
Prior to Young’s arrival in 2024, the CFTC granted only 6 of 13 final requests for whistleblower awards in 2023, which amounted to between $300,000 and $15 million of the amount collected by the CFTC in “successful enforcement of the Covered Action(s).”
What remains to be seen is whether this former CFTC whistleblower program head ushers in an era of increased frequency of whistleblower awards. Certainly, there are signals that the CFTC and its new enforcement director value the services of whistleblowers who come forward with “original information” that contributes to enforcement successes. Perhaps Young is bringing the DOJ successes fueled by whistleblowers under the federal False Claims Act to bear on his new assignment.