Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it awarded a whistleblower nearly $125,000.
The whistleblower “helped both the SEC and another agency to bring successful actions against the perpetrator of a fraudulent securities offering.”
“Whistleblowers like the individual receiving the award today provide a valuable public service, and we encourage others to come forward with information regarding possible securities laws violations,” said Jane Norberg, the Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.
This whistleblower is the 85th person to receive an award from the SEC since it issued the first award in 2012. The total amount awarded from the Office of the Whistleblower over the past seven years is almost $501 million. The award money derives from “an investor protection fund established by Congress that is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators”—harmed investors do not pay for the whistleblower awards.
If a whistleblower discloses “original, timely and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action,” they can be eligible for a whistleblower award, which “can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million.” Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC must protect a whistleblower’s identity.
This award joins two other SEC whistleblower awards issued in this past month alone: one for $700,000 and another historic award for almost $50 million.