Bond Whistleblower Lawyer

If you’ve encountered fraud involving municipal bonds, you might be eligible for a financial reward. Find out by consulting with a bond whistleblower attorney.

While many people think of fraud relating to bonds as of little interest to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), this is actually far from true—especially when municipal bonds are involved. In fact, the SEC has even begun cracking down on these types of securities violations in recent years.

Whether it’s “pay to play” or a phony auction, the SEC will punish fraud involving bonds, often through the use of sanctions. This means that a whistleblower who tips off the SEC to the bond fraud could be awarded millions of dollars for relevant and original information.

If you think you know of municipal bond fraud that would interest the SEC, a bond whistleblower lawyer from Meissner Associates can help you submit your tip, claim your reward, and protect your rights afterward.

Municipal Bonds and Pay to Play

Cities and municipalities can seek financing for major projects, such as a new bridge or hospital, through the issuance of a municipal bond. Under normal circumstances, the city would negotiate with an investment bank to underwrite the bond, which then makes a profit by selling the bonds to investors.

Because these bonds can be incredibly profitable for the investment banks, less scrupulous banks will donate to politicians’ political campaigns with the understanding that they’ll negotiate a bond with the bank in return.

This is what is known as “pay to play,” and the practice is a violation of federal anti-fraud provisions, which makes knowledge of such a transaction of interest to the SEC. By submitting a tip through a bond whistleblower attorney from our office, you can expose political corruption and potentially collect a financial reward.

Municipal Bonds and Phony Auctions

Not all municipal bonds are privately negotiated, however. Sometimes cities will seek financing from Wall Street in general by putting the underwriting of a bond up for auction. Different financial institutions can then submit a bid for the bond by specifying an interest rate. The one with the lowest interest rate wins the right to underwrite the municipal bond.

In a phony or rigged auction, investment banks work with each other or the auctioneers to control bidding on the bond. They might divvy up different auctions between themselves or pay off other banks to prevent them from bidding. Either way, the municipality receives an interest rate that is not the result of competitive bidding.

This is fraud, pure and simple.

Connect with a Municipal Bond Whistleblower Attorney

Bonds might not be what most people think of in relation to securities fraud, but the SEC will investigate bond fraud that violates federal anti-fraud provisions all the same. When you’re thinking about stepping up and exposing bond fraud to the SEC, you need an experienced whistleblower firm like Meissner Associates on your side.

Find out if the SEC is likely to investigate your information by signing up for a free, confidential tip evaluation performed by a knowledgeable bond whistleblower lawyer. Just complete the form at the bottom of the page or call us at 1-866-764-3100.