Serving Clients in Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads, Washington D.C. & Throughout the U.S.
There's an old saying: knowledge is power. Nowhere is this more true than in the financial industry, where a little bit of information can swing millions of dollars from one party to another. As you might expect, then, mis-use of information is one the most common causes of financial industry fraud.
James H. Shoemaker can help you if you've witnessed or have evidence of insider trading and want to blow the whistle with the SEC. Our experienced financial industry fraud lawyer can protect your rights under federal law. You need a passionate, vigilant lawyer on your side.
If you need an experienced financial industry fraud lawyer because you have evidence of insider trading, please call James H. Shoemaker, Jr, Attorney at Law today at 757.223.4560.
What is Insider Trading?
“Insider trading” is a term that gets thrown around a fair bit in popular culture. It's a common charge in fictionalized legal dramas focused on white collar crimes, and you might have heard the term during the controversy that resulted in the imprisonment of the lifestyle mogul Martha Stewart. But what exactly, does “insider trading” mean?
Insider trading refers to the purchase or sale of a security by someone – be it an individual or a large trading firm – who has material, non-public information.
It's important to focus on the two qualifiers there: “material” and “non-public.” An insider trading charge requires information that is not available to the general public – everyone makes transactions based on publicly available information, and so these transactions are not problematic.
Insider information must be material – this means that the information has to be relevant to the transaction. To use an exaggerated example, if an investor sees the CEO of a major corporation sprain his ankle on the street and decides to sell the company's stock as a result, that's not insider trading.
On the other hand, if the investor is friends with the CEO, and the CEO tells him that his company is about to declare disappointing earnings for the quarter, and the investor sells stock based on that information, that is a classic example of insider trading.
Why You Need a Financial Industry Fraud Lawyer
As you can probably guess, proving insider trading isn't always easy. Proving that a transaction was made as the result of non-public information and not some other, innocent explanation can be difficult. These cases often turn on the testimony of witnesses – that is to say, whistleblowers.
Whistleblowers within a firm are often uniquely positioned to observe insider trading or other illegal behavior. And when you come forward to report these activities, you deserve the best possible legal representation.
Why is that necessary? Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform passed in 2010, whistleblowers have numerous legal protections. But firms can be creative about pursuing retribution against whistleblowers. Many whistleblowers have suffered severe career consequences as a result of their brave actions.
Mr. Shoemaker is experienced at working with whistleblowers. If you have witnessed insider trading and you want to step forward, do not let fear prevent you from doing the right thing. We know your rights and what you are entitled to under federal law. We will not let you be bullied. We will show the same passion in fighting for you as you've shown in coming forward to blow the whistle.
If you would like to speak to our experienced Virginia Beach, Virginia financial industry fraud lawyer about protecting your rights as a whistleblower, please call James H. Shoemaker, Jr, Attorney at Law today at 757.223.4560.