On Mar. 19, SEC announced largest whistleblower award of $83mn.
- Highest-ever Dodd-Frank awards, with two whistleblowers sharing nearly $50mn and a third whistleblower receiving over $33mn,
- The previous high was $30mn paid in 2014,
- Provided significant information, enabled SEC to pursue, remedy serious violation,
- Hope to encourage others with specific, high-quality information to report to SEC.
Law Firm Statement
- Law firm Labaton Sucharow, represented whistleblowers, called landmark action.
- Followed Merrill Lynch paying $415mn to settle charges it misused customer cash, to generate profits for firm, and failed to safeguard customer assets.
- Firm misused customer funds that should have been deposited in reserve account.
Whistleblower Program
- SEC has awarded more than $262mn to 53 whistleblowers since first one in 2012.
- All payments are made out of an investor protection fund established by congress.
- Financed entirely from monetary sanctions paid to SEC by securities law violators.
- Said no money has been taken, or withheld from harmed investors to pay awards.
- Paid on original, timely, and credible information that leads to enforcement action.
- Awards range from 10% to 30% of the money collected, for sanctions over $1mn.
- By law, SEC protected whistleblower confidentiality, and does not disclose identity.