iYesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a record-breaking whistleblower award of $50 million granted to an individual. The SEC whistleblower provided the Commission with detailed first-hand information of wrongdoing committed by a company.
The SEC Whistleblower Program has awarded whistleblowers half a billion dollars since the inception of the agency’s program under the Dodd-Frank Act in 2011.
According to the SEC order:
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the SEC whistleblower provided “highly significant” and “first-hand observations” to the Commission.
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“Claimant 1 laid out in detail substantial aspects of the scheme and provided a roadmap for the investigation.”
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The whistleblower’s reporting led to a “significant amount of money” returned to those harmed by the Company’s misconduct
“This award marks several milestones for the whistleblower program,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “This award is the largest individual whistleblower award announced by the SEC since the inception of the program, and brings the total awarded to whistleblowers by the SEC to over $500 million, including over $100 million in this fiscal year alone. Whistleblowers have proven to be a critical tool in the enforcement arsenal to combat fraud and protect investors.”
As set forth under the Dodd-Frank Act, SEC whistleblowers can anonymously and confidentially report securities fraud to the Commission and earn whistleblower awards if the information they disclose leads to successful enforcement action.
Ben Kostyack also contributed to this article.
