SEC issues over $3 million in whistleblower awards

Securities Whistleblower Enforcement SEC Investigations

On April 23, the SEC announced whistleblower awards totaling more than $3 million in two separate enforcement actions. According to the first redacted order, the SEC awarded a whistleblower approximately $3.2 million for alerting enforcement staff to violations, identifying key issues for staff to focus on, and providing a “roadmap” for staff that conserved resources. However, the SEC noted that the whistleblower “unreasonably delayed” reporting the information to the Commission—it was submitted approximately four years after the date on which the whistleblower first noticed the misconduct—during which “investors continued to suffer harm.”

In the second redacted order, the SEC awarded a whistleblower more than $100,000 for providing information (of which “there was substantial law enforcement interest”) that assisted the Commission’s investigation and “was one of the underlying sources that formed the basis for the charges in the Covered Action.” The SEC noted that the whistleblower provided helpful assistance and suffered personal and professional hardships as a result.