$14 Million Payday for SEC Whistleblower

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced an award of approximately $14 million to a whistleblower who provided meaningful information leading to an investigation, and subsequent recovery of substantial investor funds. The SEC’s announcement indicated that the whistleblower did not want to be identified. As such, neither the announcement, nor the order, indicates the name of any of the entities or individuals involved.

It is the largest award made by the SEC’s whistleblower program to date. Previous whistleblower awards were $50,000 and $25,000. The payments to whistleblowers are made from a fund established by the Dodd-Frank Act and do not come from the SEC’s annual appropriations, or reduce the amounts paid to aggrieved investors.

The Order Determining Whistleblower Award Claim can be found here.