On Friday, the SEC, without holding an open meeting, adopted two amendments to the whistleblower program that had been proposed in February. The vote was three to two. Under the SEC’s whistleblower program, the SEC may “make monetary awards to eligible individuals who voluntarily provide original information that leads to successful SEC enforcement actions resulting in monetary sanctions exceeding $1 million and certain successful related actions.” Awards must be in the range of 10% to 30% of the monetary sanctions collected. The two new amendments relate to changes that had been adopted in 2020 regarding awards under related programs and award amounts. According to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the amendments will “help enhance the whistleblower program. The first amendment expands the circumstances in which a whistleblower who assisted in a related action can receive an award from the Commission for that related action rather than from the other agency’s whistleblower program. The second amendment concerns the Commission’s authority to consider and adjust the dollar amount of a potential award. Under today’s amendments, when the Commission considers the size of the would-be award as grounds to change the award amount, it can do so only to increase the award, and not to decrease it. This will give whistleblowers additional comfort knowing that the Commission would not decrease awards based on their size….I think that these rules will strengthen our whistleblower program. That...
KENNESAW, Ga. (InvestigateTV) - A Kennesaw homeowner discovered someone filed a fraudulent insurance claim for fire damage on her renovated home, sparking a months-long battle to clear her record a...