SEC whistleblower awards Tag Archives

SEC Announces $4.5M Whistleblower Award

Published on: May 29, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

In a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whistleblower case that resulted in a company probe and two successful enforcement actions, the regulator has awarded $4.5M to the individual who stepped forward to provide the key information. This person is the 62nd one to receive an SEC whistleblower award since the Commission began granting them in 2012.

According to the regulator, the whistleblower provided an anonymous tip internally to the company about the alleged wrongdoing, as well as a similar tip to the SEC within 120 days. The information compelled the company to conduct its probe into the misconduct allegations and then report them to the Commission and to a second agency. After the company concluded its investigation, it notified both agencies of the outcome.

While the SEC didn’t provide specifics about the whistleblower case—it refrains from doing so in order to protect the confidentiality of any informants/claimants—The Wall Street Journal identified the claimant as an ex-Brazilian orthopedic surgeon who brought up concerns about an alleged kickback scam run by a subsidiary of Zimmer Biomet Holdings.

Latest SEC Whistleblower Award is $50 Million | Securities Fraud Attorney

Published on: April 5, 2019 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has awarded $50M to two individuals who acted as whistleblowers, helping the regulator to render a successful enforcement action because of the quality information they provided. Details of the enforcement action and the identity of the whistleblowers are not disclosed so as to protect their identities. However, the SEC did announce that one of the whistleblower awards is for $37M and the other is for $13M.

The SEC awards individuals that voluntarily share unique, credible, timely, and relevant information that then leads to a successful enforcement action when the resulting monetary sanctions imposed is more than $1M. 10-30% of that may then be awarded to the SEC whistleblower , or in some case, the whistleblowers.

Since the inception of the SEC whistleblower program in 2012, the regulator has awarded 61 individuals about $376M. All whistleblower awards come out of an investor protection fund set up by Congress. Money in the funds come out of monetary sanctions that have been paid to the Commission. Whistleblower awards are never taken out of any funds that investors who sustained losses from fraud might be able to recover.

SEC Issues $55.5M in Whistleblower Awards

Published on: September 18, 2018 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced this month that it is granting $55.5M in whistleblower awards to three people—two of them over the same enforcement action. These latest awards means that 58 whistleblower have been collectively awarded $322M since the regulator began issuing these in 2012.

In the same enforcement action, the SEC awarded $15M to one whistleblower and $39M to another. The latter award is the second largest award that the agency’s whistleblower program has granted to one person to date.

Under the SEC’s program, individuals who voluntarily provide unique, timely, and true information to the Commission, with said information resulting in a successful enforcement action and sanctions of over $1M, may be eligible to receive 10-30% of the funds collected. All awards are taken out of an investor protection fund set up by Congress. The money in the fund comes from sanctions paid by securities law violators.

SEC Grants $83M in Whistleblower Awards in $415M Bank of America Settlement

Published on: March 19, 2018 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded two whistleblowers almost $50M and another over $33M in the largest whistleblower awards that the regulator has issued to date. This ups the total of SEC whistleblower awards granted to $262M to 53 individuals in the last six years.

According to the SEC Office of the Whistleblower Chief Jane Norberg, these latest awards show that whistleblowers can offer information that is “incredibly significant,” making it possible for the regulator to go after serious violations that could have gone “unnoticed. “ Until these latest awards, the largest SEC whistleblower award granted was $30M in 2014.

Whistleblowers who provide quality, unique information involving securities law violations that lead to a successful enforcement action rendering over $1M in monetary sanctions may be eligible to receive an award that is 10-30% of the funds collected.