SEC Awards More Than $10 Million to Whistleblower

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of more than $10 million to a whistleblower who provided information and assistance that significantly contributed to a successful SEC enforcement action. The whistleblower provided important documents and met twice with Enforcement staff. The charges in the covered action had a close nexus with the whistleblower’s allegations, which were critical to the underlying investigation. “The whistleblower awarded today provided information that resulted in the return of a significant amount of money to harmed investors,” said Creola Kelly, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “This illustrates how the Whistleblower Program works to benefit, via financial remediation, investors who are victimized by those who violate our securities laws.” Payments to whistleblowers are made out of an investor protection fund, established by Congress, which is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators.