Information for You Before You Submit a Tip or Complaint to the Division of Enforcement

What Information Should I Provide?

We can best respond to you if we receive accurate and complete information. Though you are not required to furnish any more information than you wish, the critical information that we need to evaluate your tip includes:

• Your name, mail and email addresses, and telephone numbers;
• The name, mail and email addresses, telephone numbers, and website address of any individual or company you mention in the tip or complaint;
• If you have a tip or complaint about a security or a securities salesperson, specific details of how, why, and when the conduct occurred; and
• Any relevant documentation

Any information you do provide must be truthful. A person who is found to have knowingly and willfully submitted false, fictitious, and/or fraudulent statements to the SEC may be fined up to $10,000 and/or imprisoned up to five years. 18 USC 1001; 17 CFR 11.6(b).

What Happens After I Send Information to the SEC?

Staff in the Division of Enforcement evaluate information and tips concerning violations of the federal securities laws. It is the general policy of the SEC to conduct its investigations on a confidential basis to preserve the integrity of its investigative process as well as to protect persons against whom unfounded charges may be made or where the SEC determines that enforcement action is not necessary or appropriate. Subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the SEC cannot disclose the existence or non-existence of an investigation or any information gathered unless made a matter of public record in proceedings brought before the SEC or in the courts. You can find information about public enforcement actions on our web site.

The information you provide may be used in the routine operations of the SEC, which include law enforcement, review of legislative and regulatory proposals, regulation of the securities markets, and review of reports and documents filed with the SEC. Specifically, the SEC may use the information obtained from this form in any administrative or civil proceeding in which it is a party, or in which any member of the SEC or its staff participates as a party. It may also provide the information to other state and federal agencies, and foreign authorities.

To submit your tip or complaint, click here.

http://www.sec.gov/complaint/info_tipscomplaint.shtml