Second-Largest Whistleblower Award Issued by SEC

Last week, the SEC awarded more than $17 million to a single former corporate executive who provided a “detailed tip” regarding securities law violations by a financial services company.  Four other individuals made claims in the case, which the SEC denied because their information did not lead to successful enforcement of the securities law violations.  

This award is the second largest in the history of the SEC’s whistleblower program, following the SEC’s $30 million whistleblower award in September 2014.  The SEC whistleblower program has been particularly active recently, having issued five awards in five weeks, totaling more than $26 million.  In total, the agency’s whistleblower program has paid out more than $85 million in awards to 32 whistleblowers since the program was created nearly five years ago.