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12 N.Y.U. J.L. & Bus. 215 (2015-2016)
An Empirical Analysis of SEC Enforcement Actions in Light of the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program

handle is hein.journals/nyujolbu12 and id is 219 raw text is: NEW YORK UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF LAW & BUSINESS VOLUME 12 FALL 2015 NUMBER 1 AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS IN LIGHT OF THE DODD-FRANK WHISTLEBLOWER PROGRAM CAROLINE E. DAYrON* This Note examines the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) enforcement decisions in light of the creation of the Office of the Whistleblower (OWB), which was enacted through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank). Specifically, this Note looks at whether the types of violations that are pursued by the SEC have changed after the creation of the OWB. In addition, it examines the change in the monetary sanctions for actions in which a whistleblower is likely to be present. After conducting an empirical analysis using data con- tained in the Securities Enforcement Empirical Database, Ifind support for the conclusions that (1) enforcement actions in which a whistleblower is likely to be present increased after the creation of the OWB in 2011 and (2) the median disgorgement and civil penalty amounts for actions in which a whistleblower is likely to be present have decreased as compared to enforce- ment actions in which a whistleblower is unlikely to be present. Lastly, this Note examines possible policy implications of the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program (DFWP) and how a reliance on tips from whistleblowers may affect enforcement policy going forwards. Although there is not enough data at this point to support a robust statistical analysis, I conclude that the evidence supports the conclusion that the SEC has changed its enforcement policy after the creation of the DFWP and continued monitoring should take place to determine the role the OWB plays in the SEC's enforcement strategy. * Copyright © 2015 by Caroline E. Dayton. J.D., 2015, New York Uni- versity School of Law; B.S., 2010, University of Virginia. I would like to thank Professor Stephen Choi for his thoughtful comments and guidance through- out the development of this Note. I am particularly grateful to the Securities Enforcement Empirical Database for assisting me with data on SEC enforce- ment actions used here. In addition, I would also like to thank my fiance, Nolan Pauker, for his help in the data analysis involved in this Note. I wish to thank the 2015-2016 Board of Editors of the NYU Journal of Law & Business for their time, efforts and advice. All errors are my own. 215 Imaged with Permission of N.Y.U. Journal of Law & Business

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