On Monday, December 5, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provided a whistleblower with an award worth approximately $3.5 million for providing unique, specific information that led to a successful enforcement action. Two other whistleblowers in the same action had their claims denied.
The SEC did not identify the enforcement action or the whistleblowers, as it is not allowed to do so per federal law. This was the 36th whistleblower to collect an award. Since the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower began its program in 2011, the agency has awarded these whistleblowers with a combined $135 million. These amounts continue to grow on a yearly basis.
Other claimants did not meet SEC guidelines for awards
The other claimants in the case did not meet SEC requirements for recovering awards. At least one of them did not provide any information that was used in the SEC’s investigation, according to the agency. That whistleblower also missed the deadline for filing such a claim. The individual is now filing an appeal, arguing that the SEC did not make these deadlines clear enough.
However, all rules and guidelines for SEC whistleblower claims are posted on the agency’s website, with specific deadlines listed for each form of covered action. A “covered action” occurs when sanctions reach a value of more than $1 million, which then makes the whistleblower eligible to receive up to 30 percent of the total amount the SEC collects.
The SEC’s whistleblower program makes it easier and more advantageous for individuals to expose potential wrongdoing within their organizations. For further information and guidance, consult a dedicated attorney at Whistleblower Law for Managers in Dallas, Texas.
