On January 11, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued four separate whistleblower awards. Each of the awarded whistleblowers provided the SEC with original information that led to a successful enforcement action.
Through the SEC Whistleblower Program, qualified whistleblowers are entitled to an award of 10-30% of the funds collected by the government in the enforcement action. The SEC Whistleblower Program also offers anti-retaliation protections to whistleblowers. One such protection is confidentiality; thus, the SEC does not disclose any identifying information about award recipients.
In the first award order, the SEC granted $450,000 to a whistleblower who provided important information that prompted the SEC to open an investigation into the alleged misconduct. According to the award order, the whistleblower “provided substantial, ongoing assistance, including participating in voluntary interviews with Commission staff and providing voluminous important documents.”
In the second award order, the SEC awarded over $20,000 to a whistleblower. According to the SEC, the whistleblower “provided significant information that alerted Commission staff to an ongoing fraud, prompting the opening of the investigation.” The whistleblower additionally “provided critical documents and participated in post-tip conversations with Commission staff that helped advance the investigation.”
In the third and fourth award orders, the SEC issued awards in the amount of 30% of...
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