SEC awards $28 million to whistleblower in latest blockbuster payment

• The US Securities and Exchange Commission awarded $28 million to a whistleblower in the latest of its massive informant payouts.
• The tipster reported information that led to an internal investigation at a company, according to a Tuesday press release.
• While the SEC awarded about $175 million to whistleblowers during the fiscal year ended in September, it doled out roughly $150 million in October alone.
• The SEC didn’t provide information on the whistleblower’s identity or the company involved in the case.
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The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday announced a $28 million whistleblower payment, extending its streak of big-money payouts to cooperating informants.

The unidentified whistleblower reported information that prompted an internal investigation at a company, according to a Tuesday press release. The tipster also identified a key witness and provided testimony, in turn saving staff time and resources at the agency, the SEC said.

The SEC didn’t provide information on the whistleblower’s identity or the company involved, citing the Dodd-Frank Act for the omissions. 

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The agency awarded more than $150 million across four whistleblowers in October alone for their help in scoping out wrongdoing, Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, said in the statement. Among the awards was a record-breaking $114 million payout. The sum was split between a $52 million payout for aiding the SEC and a $62 million award related to actions taken by another agency, the SEC said in October.

“I hope our recent awards will continue to incentivize whistleblowers to come forward to report potential fraud or other wrongdoing,” she added.

The SEC’s been on a whistleblower-award spree, with the new fiscal year that started in September set to eclipse last year’s total. Roughly $175 million was awarded last fiscal year, according to Bloomberg.

About $715 million has been paid out to 110 individuals since the SEC issued its first whistleblower award in 2012. Payments are made from an investor protection fund established by Congress, and are fully funded by sanctions on securities law violators. Whistleblower awards can range from 10% to 30% of cash collected in cases where sanctions top $1 million.

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