SEC Highlights Successes of Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program to Congress

Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued its annual report to Congress on the agency's Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program. The report details the increased success the program had in 2014, including that it paid awards to nine whistleblowers, as compared to the five awards total in the prior years since the program was established in 2011. Additionally, the SEC notes that it received 3,620 tips in 2014, 400 more than in 2013. Beyond statistics, the report also provides some details about the whistleblowers who have been paid awards since 2011, whose identities have been kept confidential: 40 percent were employees or former employees of the company committing the securities violation and another 20% were contractors or consultants. The remainder was a mix of industry professionals, personal acquaintances of the perpetrator, and victims of the fraud. The SEC’s full report is available here.