CFTC Whistleblower Program Taps SEC Enforcement Lawyer As New Director

In January, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) lost to the SEC the first director of the new CFTC Whistleblower Office, Vincente Martinez. CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler has announced that he has recruited from the SEC Enforcement Division Christopher Ehrman to lead the CFTC Whistleblower Office’s efforts to attract whistleblowers in the swaps and futures markets.

Mr. Ehrman most recently had been Assistant Director of the SEC’s Office of Market Intelligence. His experience there should serve him well since he “oversaw the processing, review and assignment of all tips, complaints and referrals received by the SEC, ” according to the CFTC’s announcement.

He also served as the Co-National Coordinator for the Microcap Fraud Working Group, which sought to develop “novel ways to detect, disrupt and prosecute fraud relating to securities quoted on the OTC Market.”

As we have written about during the evolution of Dodd-Frank, the CFTC Whistleblower Program was created to reward persons who report violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.

Unlike the SEC, the CFTC has yet to announce a payment to a whistleblower under the new program. The greater number of tips received by the SEC, and perhaps the complexity of the violations reported, may be a factor.

We wish Mr. Ehrman great success in making the new CFTC Whistleblower Program a reality.