SEC Announces Two More Whistleblower Awards
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced two more whistleblower awards. These mark the 45th and 46th SEC whistleblower payouts, bringing the total amount of money awarded to over $158 million.
On July 25th, the agency awarded $2.5 million to a government employee. This individual was able to provide securities industry officials with a tip that helped launch an investigation, which eventually led to enforcement action against a private company.
Soon after, on July 27th, the SEC awarded $1.7 million to an informant who provided key information that helped the agency put a stop to a difficult-to-detect fraud scheme. As a result of this tip, millions of dollars were able to be returned to innocent investors who had been victimized.
SEC Whistleblower Awards: Personal Information Will Always Remain Confidential
In SEC whistleblower cases, the identity of the individual making the disclosure will always remain anonymous. As can be seen with the two most recently announced SEC whistleblower awards, the public receives very little information about the actual case at hand. Not only is the identity of the whistleblower kept private, but the SEC also does not publicly connect the award to any specific enforcement action that has been recently taken by the agency.
Those seeking to make disclosures can seek an extra layer of confidentiality by making their initial disclosure anonymously through a qualified attorney. Your attorney can submit an anonymous Form TCR (Tip, Complaint, Referral) to the agency for investigation. In these cases, the SEC will only learn of your identity should a whistleblower award be approved. If no award is granted, your identity will not need to be disclosed.
SEC Whistleblower Award Money Comes From Fines and Sanctions
When the SEC sanctions an individual, a financial company or brokerage firm, based on the information provided by a whistleblower, the whistleblower may receive an award worth between 10 percent and 30 percent of the total money collected. To qualify, the total financial sanctions in the case must be valued at more than $1 million. Payments are made to a whistleblower out of the investor protection fund, which was set up by the United States Congress to handle these cases. This fund is made up of money that was recovered for fines and penalties. To be clear, this means that no money is taken from the victimized investors to pay financial industry whistleblowers.
Contact Our Florida SEC Whistleblower Lawyers Today
At Carlson & Associates, P.A., our Miami SEC whistleblower awards lawyers are committed to representing the rights and interests of securities industry insiders who wish to make vital disclosures. If you wish to make a disclosure, please do not hesitate to contact us today at 1-(305)-372-9700. Initial legal consultations are always fully confidential.
Resources:
sec.gov/news/press-release/2017-130
sec.gov/news/press-release/2017-134