Archive

March 18, 2022

The SEC has made three awards totaling approximately $3 million to three whistleblowers whose actions helped lead to three enforcement actions.  All three whistleblowers were said to have provided information that prompted the agency to open investigations into potential securities law violations.  Two of the whistleblowers were company insiders who reported concerns internally before coming forward.  SEC

March 11, 2022

A whistleblower was awarded $14 million by the SEC in a decision that departed from the recommendation of the Claims Review Staff to deny the award.  A report about a fraud committed by a company and its CEO was published online; two individuals claimed to be authors of the report, which contained analysis derived from a large number of publicly-available and non-public sources.  Neither submitted a TCR to the SEC at the time the report was published, although the whistleblower who received the award provided the report directly to Commission staff and provided additional information during the course of the enforcement action that the SEC initiated based on the report’s allegations.   The whistleblower did submit a TCR two months after the SEC posted a Notice of Covered Action, more than four years after the report was publicly released.  The Commission found that it would be in the public interest and consistent with the protection of investors to exercise its discretionary authority and grant an award despite the individual’s failure to initially file a TCR.  The second claimant, who did not submit a TCR at any time, and who did not communicate with enforcement staff, was denied an award.  SEC

March 8, 2022

The SEC has awarded more than $3.5 million to a whistleblower whose information significantly contributed to two successful enforcement actions by prompting staff to further investigate securities violations, saving time and resources, and helping to advance settlement discussions.  SEC

January 21, 2022

A whistleblower received an award of $1.5 million, with the SEC finding that the individual voluntarily provided new and original information as well as substantial assistance during the course of the government’s investigation.  The information helped Commission staff formulate their investigative strategy, saved government time and resources, and significantly contributed to the success of a government investigation.   SEC

January 21, 2022

A whistleblower received an award of $1.8 million, with the SEC finding that the individual voluntarily provided original information that led the SEC to open an investigation that was directly based on the whistleblower’s information.  The SEC further noted that the individual had also reported the misconduct internally in a timely manner, had suffered hardship as a result of reporting, and had provided substantial ongoing assistance during the government’s investigation.   SEC

January 21, 2022

Two unidentified whistleblowers were jointly awarded $37 million based on findings that they voluntarily provided key evidence to the government, which significantly contributed to the government’s understanding of the underlying wrong, and provided ongoing assistance during the government’s investigation.  The award is based on amounts recovered in a successful enforcement action by the SEC, as well as a separate related action by a different, unidentified, agency.  SEC

January 10, 2022

The SEC has issued two awards totaling more than $4 million to three whistleblowers whose information and assistance helped bring about two successful enforcement actions.  In the first order, a single whistleblower who reported internally before providing significant new information to the agency on an existing investigation was awarded $2.6 million.  According to the SEC, the misconduct occurred overseas and would have been difficult to detect without the whistleblower’s tip.  In the second order, two whistleblowers received a joint award of $1.5 million for providing substantial ongoing assistance.  SEC

January 6, 2022

The SEC has awarded over $13 million to an individual who promptly alerted agency staff to an ongoing fraud.  The resulting investigation and subsequent assistance helped minimize investor losses and led to a successful enforcement action.  SEC

December 7, 2021

The SEC has issued a whistleblower reward of $5 million to an individual who voluntarily provided original information to the Commission regarding the misuse of proceeds from a securities offering.  The SEC found that the whistleblower promptly reported the misconduct, enabling the Commission to quickly bring a successful enforcement action and return millions to harmed investors.  SEC

November 22, 2021

Two whistleblowers who provided the SEC with new and significant information during an existing investigation, including information about misconduct occurring in different geographic areas, received awards of approximately $6.2 million and $1.3 million.  The award to the first claimant was also based in part on a recovery in a related action, based on findings that the whistleblower provided information to the relevant other agency.  In support of the first claimant’s larger award, the SEC also cited that their information was more significant, that the majority of the relief ordered was based on information provided by them, that they reported their concerns internally prior than reporting to the SEC, and they reported more expeditiously.  SEC