Ex-Vanguard Lawyer Pushes For Whistleblower Status

MALVERN, PA —Former Vanguard lawyer David Danon has asked a federal appeals court to order the Securities Exchange Commission to grant his request to be labeled a whistleblower for reporting Vanguard was underpaying taxes between 2013 and 2016, according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer Monday.

Danon petitioned the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia on July 25 to order the SEC to respond to Danon’s request for whistleblower status within 30 days.

Danon has also called on the court to order the SEC to provide specific information he’s been seeking to back his claim for a whistleblower’s cut of money Vanguard may have paid the government.

Danon, a Chester County resident, said in the petition the whistleblower’s program is designed to protect those who reveal improper practices.

The Inquirer reported that Danon was fired by Vanguard 25 days after he reported reaching out to federal authorities, accusing Vanguard of underpaying taxes.

Vanguard, which is not a defendant, declined to comment to the Inquirer and has previously stated that it paid the taxes it owed.