On December 22, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) awarded $28 million in total to seven whistleblowers: $13 million to an individual whistleblower, $13 million to four joint whistleblowers, and $2 million to two joint whistleblowers.
“These whistleblowers provided valuable information and substantial assistance that played a critical role in the SEC returning millions of dollars to harmed investors,” said Creola Kelly, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.
The SEC Whistleblower Program offers monetary awards to qualified whistleblowers, individuals who voluntarily provide original information that leads to a successful enforcement action. Awards are for 10-30% of the funds collected in the enforcement action and the SEC weighs a number of factors in determining the exact percentage to award a whistleblower.
According to the SEC’s award order, the whistleblowers who received the $13 million awards made disclosures which “provided Enforcement staff with detailed and highly significant information early in the investigation that advanced the staff’s investigation, saved considerable Commission time and resources, bore a close nexus to the charges brought by the Commission in the Covered Action, and resulted in millions of dollars being returned to harmed investors.”
These whistleblowers also “provided ongoing assistance by, among other things, participating in voluntary interviews, providing supporting documents to the staff, and identifying key...
On Friday, April 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has agreed to pay just over $17 million to resolve allegations that ...