On March 8, 2016, the SEC announced payment of nearly $2,000,000 in whistleblower bounty awards to three tipsters.  (The order granting the award can be accessed here.)  The largest of the three awards, approximately $1,800,000, went to a whistleblower who provided original information that prompted the SEC to open an investigation.  The other two whistleblowers provided information after the investigation began, and will each receive approximately $65,000.  All three whistleblowers have chosen to remain anonymous.

In connection with this award, Sean McKessy, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, said, “We’re seeing a significant uptick in whistleblower tips over prior years, and we believe that’s attributable to increased public awareness of our program and the tens of millions of dollars we’ve paid to whistleblowers for information that helped us bring successful enforcement actions.”