The Securities and Exchange Commission announced giving a nearly $1.25 million award to a whistleblower who provided the agency with important information that prompted the agency to initiate a cause examination and bring an enforcement action and allowed harmed investors to recover their money.
Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower commented:
The whistleblower’s expeditious reporting alerted the agency to previously unknown securities violations. This whistleblower’s vigilance and prompt reporting helped the agency move quickly to protect investors, resulting in the return of millions of dollars to harmed investors.
So far, the agency has awarded over $507 million to 90 individuals for their help since the first award was issued in 2012. Payment of the awards is taken out of an investor protection fund set up by Congress. It is financed through monetary sanctions of security law violations paid to SEC.
To be eligible for award, a whistleblower needs to voluntarily provide the commission with reliable information that leads to successful enforcement action. The awards range between 10 and 30 % of the money collected by SEC when the sanction is for more than $1 million.
According to the Dodd-Frank Act, SEC must protect the identity of the whistleblower and not disclose any information that could reveal it.
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