SEC Whistleblower Lawyer Blog
The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has awarded another whistleblower bounty to someone offering information and assistance. This time, the whistleblower received an award of $1.25 million after voluntarily supplying information that resulted in a successful SEC enforcement action.
Providing the SEC with valuable and original information, the individual also continued to assist staff by providing information that saved the SEC investigative resources. This included the identification of key witnesses, explaining vital documentation and relevant terminology, and helped direct the investigation to the core concerns.
The agency did find that the individual did engage in “unreasonable reporting delay.” The whistleblower did, in fact, wait more than 18 months to report the information to their company internally, and three years to report the misconduct to the SEC. There was no reason given for the delay in reporting. Although this could have led to a reduction or even elimination of an award, the Claims Review Staff (CRS) decided not to invoke that rule and allowed the individual to receive the award in the appropriate percentage. The claimant did not contest the CRS’ decision, and applied to receive the award.
Since its inception in 2012, the SEC has awarded $1.2 billion to 256 whistleblowers who provided credible and original information that led to a successful enforcement action. The monies are paid from a fund of collected administrative fines and fees paid by those found to violate securities laws. Once those monetary sanctions reach $1 million, whistleblowers may receive awards and bounties of 10% to 30% of the monies collected. Investor’s funds are not used for these awards.
Retaining Experienced SEC Whistleblower Attorneys
Whistleblowers help everyone by notifying authorities of conduct that harms the public, while also earning financial compensation for themselves. Hiring experienced SEC counsel will greatly increase your chances of the SEC initiating an investigation based on your information. If you wish to remain anonymous, you must be represented by an attorney, who will submit everything on your behalf.
Silver Law and the Law Firm of David R. Chase jointly have experienced SEC whistleblower lawyers, including a former SEC Enforcement attorney on the team, so you will always have guidance throughout the process. Our SEC whistleblower attorneys can help you if you have information regarding securities or investment fraud, violations of federal securities laws, false filings, market manipulation, or other misconduct. You must provide timely, credible, and original information or analysis in order to be eligible.
Contact us through our online form or at (800) 975-4345 for a consultation. Our attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. This means that it costs you nothing to hire us, and we collect our fees when you receive an SEC bounty. Because we get paid when you do, we have the incentive to help you collect the maximum award available.