The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a whistle-blower award of over $700,000 to a company outsider who conducted a detailed analysis that led to a successful SEC enforcement action. Although this is not as big a prize as the Powerball lottery, this is still a substantial award.
By law, the SEC protects the confidentiality of whistle-blowers and does not disclose information that might directly or indirectly reveal a whistle-blower’s identity.
Since the SEC whistle-blower program inception in 2011, over $55 million has been paid to 23 whistle-blowers.
Whistle-blowers who voluntarily provide the SEC with unique and useful information that leads to a successful enforcement action may be eligible for an award.
These awards can range from 10% to 30% of the money collected, when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million. All payments are made out of an investor protection fund established by Congress that is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. No money is taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistle-blower awards.
Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, commented:
The voluntary submission of high-quality analysis by industry experts can be every bit as valuable as first-hand knowledge of wrongdoing by company insiders. … We will continue to leverage all forms of information and analysis we receive from whistleblowers to help better detect and prosecute federal securities law violations.
Sean X. McKessy, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, added:
This award demonstrates the Commission’s commitment to awarding those who voluntarily provide independent analysis as well as independent knowledge of securities law violations to the agency. We welcome analytical information from those with in-depth market knowledge and experience that may provide the springboard for an investigation.
Get Ready To Retire (Sponsored)
Start by taking a quick retirement quiz from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes, or less.
Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.
Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.