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Over $3 Million Awarded by SEC to Whistleblower
July 17, 2015On March 9 and 25, 2015 by the Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC's") Claims Review Staff ("CRS") recommended an award in excess of $3 million for a whistleblower Claimant and recommended the denial of an award to a second whistleblower Claimant. The denial was predicated upon the second Claimant's "unreasonable delay in reporting the illegal conduct to the Commission."
On July 17, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") published its Order Determining Whistleblower Award Claim (Order, SEC, '34 Act Rel. 75477; Whistleblower Award Proc. File No. 2015-5 / July 17, 2015). The SEC characterizes the award as the third highest award under its whistleblower program.
In the Press Release announcing the award, the SEC explained that:
The whistleblower's specific and detailed information comprehensively laid out the fraudulent scheme which otherwise would have been very difficult for investigators to detect. The whistleblower's initial tip also led to related actions that increased the whistleblower's award.