If compliance officers are good at their jobs, they can expect to eventually catch their employers breaking the law, whistleblower Edward Siedle told attendees during a Day 3 fireside chat at Compliance Week’s National Conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.

Such has been the experience of Siedle, an attorney, former compliance director, and investment banking professional who most notably received $78 million in awards after blowing the whistle in a case against JPMorgan Chase.

Siedle was interviewed by Mary Inman, who represents whistleblowers as a partner at law firm Constantine Cannon. He said he has been blowing the whistle on bad corporate behavior since 1988.

At that time, he uncovered illegal trading in his first private-sector job as a compliance director and legal counsel, fresh from three years at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Siedle didn’t name the firm, reported to be Putnam Investments. His internal investigation, working off a tip by three paralegals at the firm, led to further inquiries by Congress and former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

Siedle, who works on behalf of public pensions, said he has since filed hundreds of tips and complaints about corporate malfeasance. Even after his significant awards, he continues to do so because he and other whistleblowers care about organizations doing the right thing, he said.