Company Insider Receives Whistleblower Award of More Than Half-Million Dollars

An employee turned whistleblower after witnessing securities violations within their company. The whistleblower reported the wrongdoing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) who categorized the violations as “hard-to-detect violations of the securities laws.”

The whistleblower was awarded more than $500,000 for reporting information that prompted an SEC investigation into the well-hidden misconduct that resulted in an SEC enforcement action.

“Company insiders are in a unique position to provide specific information that allows us to better protect investors and the marketplace.  We encourage insiders with information to bring it to our attention,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, in today’s announcement.

Whistleblower advocates stress this case demonstrates the importance of protecting the whistleblower reward provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act as an important tool for fighting corporate corruption. “This case again demonstrates that whistleblowers with insider information are the key to fraud detection. Any attempt by Congress or the Executive to weaken whistleblower reward laws should be vigorously opposed,” said Stephen M. Kohn, a partner at the whistleblower law firm of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto and the executive director of the National Whistleblower Center.

This is the second whistleblower award announced by the SEC in the past week.  Approximately $154 million has now been awarded to 44 whistleblowers who voluntarily provided the SEC with original and useful information that led to a successful enforcement action.

The SEC does not disclose the identity of whistleblowers nor release information that might directly or indirectly reveal a whistleblower’s identity.

Whistleblowers who voluntarily provide the SEC with unique and useful information that leads to a successful enforcement action may be eligible for an award.  Whistleblower awards can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions ordered exceed $1 million. 

Learn more:

• SEC Order
• SEC Whistleblower Resources
• Whistleblower Group Weighs in on Legislation Aimed at Crippling the Dodd-Frank Act

Contact Information

Mary Jane Wilmoth

Attorney

Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto, LLP

(1) 2023426980

mjw@kkc.com