Joint SEC Whistleblowers Share Award of More Than $6 Million

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced an award of more than $6 million to be shared by a pair of whistleblowers who provided the agency with information that led to a successful enforcement action, and related actions by other government agencies.

According to the SEC, the substantial assistance provided by the whistleblowers included submitting documents, identifying key participants in the misconduct and participating in interviews with SEC investigators.

In this particular case, the whistleblowers will each receive 50 percent of the total award. This is always the case for joint whistleblower filings with the SEC, unless they make a specific application (jointly) for different allocations.

SEC’s Whistleblower Program continues to be a success

The SEC’s Whistleblower Program allows qualified whistleblowers to receive a monetary award of 10 to 30 percent of the total funds recouped by government, depending on the nature and extent of their assistance. These payments come from a fund financed entirely by monetary sanctions paid out to the SEC from violators of securities laws.

These whistleblowers were able to receive so much money because the assistance they provided went above and beyond what was expected of them. The degree of assistance and the timeliness of disclosures can both influence the amount of money a whistleblower can expect to receive.

The program is coming off a record-setting 2020 fiscal year, and since the 2021 fiscal year began on October 1, the SEC has already handed out $166 million to 12 whistleblowers, putting the program on pace to shatter its records over the next year.

For more information about what you need to know before filing a tip with the Office of the Whistleblower, contact an experienced whistleblower lawyer at Kardell Law Group.