Washington, D.C., July 8, 2016. Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that the Chief of the Office of the Whistleblower, Sean McKessy, would leave the agency in July. Mr. McKessy was the first head of the SEC’s whistleblower program and helped to establish the important and effective whistleblower office.
“Sean McKessy built a world-class whistleblower office–a model for other agencies to follow. He will be missed,” said Stephen M. Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblower Center.
Over the course of Mr. McKessy’s tenure as Chief of the Office of the Whistleblower, the office has received more than 14,000 tips from whistleblowers throughout the United States, and around the world. Due to the information provided by many of those whistleblowers, the SEC brought successful enforcement actions resulting in over $504 million ordered in sanctions, as well as more than $453 million collected in connection with those actions. Over $85 million has been awarded to 32 whistleblowers in these cases.
Mr. McKessy made the following statement regarding his departure:
“It has been an honor and pleasure to serve as the first Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. Working with the extraordinarily talented and dedicated staff of the Whistleblower Office and the Enforcement Division in standing up a groundbreaking and exemplary Whistleblower Office has been the highlight of my professional career.”
Jane Norberg, the Whistleblower Office’s current Deputy Chief, will serve as Acting Chief following Mr. McKessy’s departure.
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