On June 3, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) issued a whistleblower award to two individuals who had provided information leading to a successful SEC enforcement action.1 The whistleblower program was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,2 which is designed to provide monetary awards to persons who provide original information related to violations of securities laws if the information leads to an enforcement action resulting in more than $1 million in monetary sanctions.3
Under the whistleblower program, the Commission is authorized to award whistleblowers between 10% and 30% of the total monetary sanctions collected as a result of a successful enforcement action.4 Because the whistleblowers wished to remain anonymous, the SEC did not disclose many details surrounding the grounds for the enforcement action, but the final award order mandated a 30% award to be split evenly between the two claimants.Â
In a press release, the SEC announced that this award would total more than $875,000.5 The award is the eighth to have been awarded since the inception of the whistleblower program in late 2011.
2 Pub. L. No. 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010).
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