The first whistleblower to garner a financial award for a tip to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), under its new whistleblower program, has received an additional $150,000 for their information.
The SEC said today that the whistleblower who was the first to receive a financial payout under its recently-adopted program has now been awarded nearly $200,000, since the award was first announced back in 2012. The total represents 30% of the amount collected by the SEC in its enforcement action against the perpetrators of a fraud scheme, which is the maximum share allowed under the law.
The additional payout comes after the SEC collected an additional $500,000 from one of the defendants in the case, it notes. And, it says that it expects to collect additional money from defendants in the case, as some of them are making payments under a schedule ordered by the court.
“This latest payment shows that the SEC’s aggressive collection efforts pay dividends not only for harmed investors but also for whistleblowers,” said Sean McKessy, chief of the SEC’s Whistleblower Office. “As we collect additional funds from securities law violators, we can increase the payouts to whistleblowers.”
The whistleblower, who has not been identified by the SEC to protect their identity, helped the regulator stop a multi-million dollar fraud and prevented the victimization of more investors.
Earlier this year, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) indicated that it is still considering whether to introduce a similar program that would reward whistleblowers for high-quality tips. The SEC program allows the commission to reward individuals who offer information that leads to an SEC enforcement action in which more than $1 million in sanctions is ordered. Awards can range from 10% to 30% of the money collected.