Bryan Wood

Practice Areas

Bryan A. Wood has been representing plaintiffs in whistleblower, securities fraud, derivative, consumer, and other complex business litigation for nearly 30 years.

Over the last 15 years, Mr. Wood has focused his practice on representing SEC, DOJ, FinCEN, CFTC, IRS, OSC, and qui tam whistleblowers, achieving extraordinary success for his clients. To date, Mr. Wood has obtained awards on behalf of his clients collectively totaling more than $100 million – most notably including nearly a dozen SEC whistleblower awards.

Mr. Wood’s whistleblower matters include the following:

• Representation of multiple former employees at a prominent custodial bank who were credited with uncovering a massive and long-standing scheme to overcharge clients billions in fraudulent foreign currency transaction fees, a case that the SEC, DOJ, and DOL collectively settled for nearly $400 million, resulting in a maximum whistleblower award;

• Representation of a group of whistleblowers who uncovered a massive Ponzi scheme that resulted in numerous SEC/DOJ actions totaling more than $450 million in settlements/judgments, with investor recoveries exceeding $130 million, resulting in a maximum whistleblower award;

• Counsel to Whistleblowers who identified and reported fraud at a massive cryptocurrency exchange that later settled related charges for more than $4 billion;

• Representation of a whistleblower who identified a massive sanctions violation scheme by a major publicly traded company, resulting in a $275 million settlement with the U.S. Treasury Department;

• Counsel to an individual who blew the whistle on a fraudulent scheme at a credit receivables fund that resulted in SEC/DOJ settlements totaling in excess of $130 million, resulting in a shared whistleblower award;

• Representation of a whistleblower who uncovered an FCPA bribery scheme among several top manufacturers in the medical device industry, which resulted in an SEC enforcement action that settled for $60 million;

• Representation of a group of whistleblowers who uncovered and alerted the SEC to a $500-$600 million litigation funding Ponzi scheme in connection with which the SEC ultimately brought an enforcement action, with receivership collections to date totaling more than $100 million;

• Representation of an outside analyst whose forensic analysis supported a tip to the SEC about fraudulent financial representations by an EV manufacturer that directly led to an SEC enforcement action that settled for $25 million;

• Counsel to a group of individuals who blew the whistle on a phony public company audit of several related-party insurance companies that ultimately resulted in a $10.25 million SEC settlement against one of the issuers and a whistleblower award determination for Pugsley Wood’s clients;

• Counsel to two whistleblowers who revealed a fraudulent scheme to accelerate revenues in the lead up to a public company’s IPO, claims that ultimately resulted in SEC/DOJ enforcement actions that collectively settled for $17 million;

• Counsel to whistleblowers who received a share of the maximum Dodd-Frank whistleblower award in connection with a fraudulent hedge fund valuation scheme that resulted in $5.25 million in SEC fines and penalties;

• Counsel to whistleblower who received a maximum $1.6 million award under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) for exposure of a multi-million bank fraud scheme;

• Representation of a group of whistleblowers who alerted the SEC to a $100 million investment fraud scheme in connection with which the SEC brought an enforcement action;

• Representation of three former sales executives who filed qui tam claims against Aegerion Pharmaceuticals in connection with an off-label marketing scheme, resulting in whistleblower awards to Mr. Wood’s clients in excess of $1.8 million;

• Representation of a whistleblower team that uncovered and alerted the SEC to an alleged Ponzi scheme at a $125 million hedge fund, allegations that led to civil charges brought by the SEC against the fund and its principals;

• Representation of an individual who alerted the SEC to a $5 million Ponzi scheme, resulting in Mr. Wood’s client being awarded a share of the maximum whistleblower award;

• Counsel to a whistleblower who alerted the SEC to an alleged Ponzi scheme at a hedge fund with $125 million in AUM, which ultimately led to civil and criminal charges against the fund’s principal;

• Representation of a former government contractor that filed a qui tam action against Philips Healthcare, a subsidiary of multi-national corporation Koninklijke Philips N.V. , for failing to properly test medical devices used in aircraft for airworthiness prior to sale, a case that resulted in a $4.2 million settlement and a whistleblower award for Mr. Wood’s clients; and

• Counsel to a whistleblower who tipped the SEC to a valuation fraud at a hedge fund with north of $150 million in assets under management, leading directly to a successful SEC administrative action and trial.

Further demonstrating his career-long record of representative success, Mr. Wood previously served as a lead litigator on a bevy of securities and other fraud litigation that collectively returned nearly $2 billion to aggrieved investors and consumers, including the following: Carlson v. Xerox Corporation, et al. ($750 million); In re Intel Corp. Derivative Litigation (corporate governance reforms); Mishler v. Nationwide Life Insurance Company ($283 million); Dunst v. Hyundai Motor America, et al. ($255 million); In re BP plc Securities Litigation ($175 million); In re Fannie Mae 2008 Securities Litigation ($170 million); City of Brockton Retirement System v. Avon Products, Inc., et al. ($62 million); Hill v. State Street Corporation ($60 million); In re Enterasys Networks, Inc. ($50 million); In re Smartforce PLC Securities Litigation ($38.5 million); In re ICG Communications, Inc. Securities Litigation ($18 million); In re Sonus Inc. Securities Litigation ($9 million); and In re Par Pharmaceutical Securities Litigation ($8 million).

Professional Memberships

The Anti-Fraud Coalition (TAF)

Standing Committee Member, TAFEF SEC/CFTC Committee

Boston Bar Association

Massachusetts Bar Association

Publications

Fall 2021, American Business Law Journal, Reforming Dodd-Frank From the Whistleblower’s Vantage, Interview Participant

December 8, 2016: Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (Boston Chapter) & Institute of Internal Auditors (Boston Chapter), Joint Presentation with Harry Markopolos, Financial Fraud Whistleblower Investigations

September 14, 2016: Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Annual Conference, Panelist, Best Practices in Working with the IRS, SEC and CFTC Whistleblower Offices, Financial Fraud Whistleblower Investigations

November 3, 2014: Boston Bar Association, Brown Bag Lunch, Panelist, SEC Whistleblower Program, Developments and Best Practices

April 29, 2014: Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Maryland Chapter, 11th Annual Fraud Conference, Presenter, So You Want To Blow The Whistle: An Overview of the SEC’s Whistleblower Program

Education

Awards