Archive

December 9, 2016

The SEC announced the award of approximately $1 million to a whistleblower “whose tip enabled the SEC to bring multiple enforcement against wrongdoers.”  SEC

December 5, 2016

The SEC announced the award of approximately $3.5 million to a whistleblower who came forward with information that led to a successful SEC enforcement action.  The award brings the total awards under the program to approximately $135 million.  SEC

November 14, 2016

The SEC announced the award of more than $20 million to a whistleblower who “promptly came forward with valuable information that enabled the SEC to move quickly and initiate an enforcement action against wrongdoers before they could squander the money.”  The award is the third-highest since the SEC’s whistleblower program issued its first award in 2012.  SEC

September 20, 2016

The SEC announced an award of more than $4 million to a whistleblower whose original information alerted the agency to a fraud.  SEC

August 30, 2016

The SEC announced that awards to whistleblowers surpassed $100 million.  The SEC’s press release stated that enforcement actions resulting from whistleblower tips have resulted in orders for more than $500 million in financial remedies.  SEC

August 30, 2016

The SEC announced an award of more than $22 million to a whistleblower whose detailed tip and extensive assistance helped the agency halt a well-hidden fraud where the whistleblower worked.  SEC

August 16, 2016

California-based health insurance provider Health Net Inc. will pay a $340,000 penalty for illegally using severance agreements which required outgoing employees to waive their ability to obtain monetary awards from the SEC’s whistleblower program.  According to the SEC’s order, Health Net violated federal securities laws by requiring departing employees to waive their right to file applications for SEC whistleblower awards in exchange for severance payments and other post-employment benefits.  SEC

August 10, 2016

Atlanta-based building products distributor BlueLinx Holdings Inc. will pay a $265,000 penalty to settle charges that it violated securities laws by requiring outgoing employees to sign severance agreements that waived their rights to monetary recovery should they file a charge or complaint with the SEC or other federal agencies.  According to the SEC’s order, BlueLinx added the monetary recovery prohibition to all of its severance agreements in mid-2013, nearly two years after the SEC’s adoption of Rule 21F-17, which prohibits any action to impede someone from communicating with the SEC about possible securities law violations.  SEC

June 9, 2016

The SEC announced a whistleblower award of more than $17 million to “a former company employee whose detailed tip substantially advanced the agency’s investigation and ultimate enforcement action.”  The award is the second-largest issued by the SEC since the inception of its whistleblower program.  SEC

May 20, 2016

The SEC announced a whistleblower award of more than $450,000 to be split between two individuals for a tip that led the agency to open a corporate accounting investigation and for their assistance once the investigation was underway.  SEC