The SEC announced a whistleblower award of more than $3 million to a company insider whose information helped the SEC crack a complex fraud.  The multi-million dollar payout is the third highest award to date under the SEC’s whistleblower program.

In the award the SEC noted due consideration was given to the claimant’s unreasonable delay in reporting the illegal conduct to the Commission, although the SEC did  not apply this factor as severely as it otherwise might have done had the delay occurred entirely after the whistleblower award program was established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection.

The award also noted the SEC denied granting another award to a separate claimant because the claimant did not provide information that led to the successful enforcement of the action.