SEC Issued 11 Whistleblower Awards in January Alone

January was a busy month for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the agency, it issued 11 whistleblower awards in the first month of 2022.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first whistleblower awards issued in the SEC’s whistleblower program in 2012. Since the program was founded it has awarded $1.2 billion to 245 total whistleblowers. All money paid out to qualifying whistleblowers in the program comes from the monetary sanctions paid by securities law violators.

Highlights from a busy first month of 2022

There were several notable cases. One week in mid-January resulted in more than $40 million in payouts.

One award saw two whistleblowers share a $37 million award paid from the SEC and another agency’s recovery. In this case, the whistleblowers were in a unique position within their organization to assist investigators with evidence interpretation. This assistance proved to be invaluable to the case and resulted in a sizable enforcement action.

Another award of $1.8 million went to a whistleblower who quickly reported misconduct internally to attempt to remedy it. The whistleblower experienced hardships as a result of their reporting, which was figured into the award paid out by the agency.

The other order was for $1.5 million and paid out to a whistleblower who provided information that helped the agency develop an investigative strategy and significantly contributed to a successful enforcement action. The agency said this whistleblower’s actions greatly spared the Commission resources and staff time.

SEC whistleblowers are eligible to receive 10 to 30 percent of monetary sanctions paid out when such sanctions exceed $1 million. For more information about the steps you must take to file a whistleblower claim with the SEC, contact an experienced whistleblower attorney at Kardell Law Group.