SEC Awards Company Outsider Whistleblower More Than $700,000

15th January 2016

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) awarded a company outsider more than $700,000 for providing information in a detailed analysis that led to a successful SEC enforcement action.

The SEC did not identify the whistleblower or the company that is subject to the enforcement action due to confidentiality protections afforded to whistleblowers by law and the SEC does not disclose any information that might directly or indirectly reveal a whistleblower’s identity.

Andrew Ceresney, Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, stated that “[t]he voluntary submission of high-quality analysis by industry experts can be every bit as valuable as first-hand knowledge of wrongdoing by company insiders.  We will continue to leverage all forms of information and analysis we receive from whistleblowers to help better detect and prosecute federal securities law violations.”

Sean X. McKessy, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, also stated that “[t]his award demonstrates the Commission’s commitment to awarding those who voluntarily provide independent analysis as well as independent knowledge of securities law violations to the agency.  We welcome analytical information from those with in-depth market knowledge and experience that may provide the springboard for an investigation.”

Since its inception in 2011, the SEC’s whistleblower program has paid 23 whistleblowers more than $55 million. When monetary sanctions are greater than $1 million, whistleblower awards can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected.  The whistleblower awards are financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators and are not taken or withheld from harmed investors.