On December 22, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced more than $28 million in whistleblower awards granted to seven individuals who all voluntarily provided the Commission with original information which aided in the success of the same enforcement action.

The SEC awarded $13 million to a single whistleblower, $13 million to four joint whistleblowers, and $2 million to two other joint whistleblowers.

Through the SEC Whistleblower Program, qualified whistleblowers, individuals who voluntarily provide original information that leads to a successful enforcement action, are entitled to monetary awards of 10-30% of the funds collected in the enforcement action connected to their disclosure.

“These whistleblowers provided valuable information and substantial assistance that played a critical role in the SEC returning millions of dollars to harmed investors,” said Creola Kelly, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.

According to the SEC’s award order, the whistleblowers who received the $13 million awards, “provided Enforcement staff with detailed and highly significant information early in the investigation that advanced the staff’s investigation, saved considerable Commission time and resources, bore a close nexus to the charges brought by the Commission in the Covered Action, and resulted in millions of dollars being returned to harmed investors.”

These whistleblowers also “provided ongoing assistance by, among other things, participating in voluntary interviews, providing supporting documents to the staff, and identifying key witnesses that were critical to the investigation.”

The SEC further notes that these five whistleblowers also made attempts to report the alleged violations internally and faced hardships as a result. 

The SEC explains that, while the whistleblowers who received the $2 million award did provide original information that aided in the success of the enforcement action, their “contribution was significantly less than the contributions of [the other awarded whistleblowers].” According to the award order, the whistleblowers who received $2 million “provided information late in the investigation after significant progress had already been made by staff and much of their information was already known to the staff.”

As part of its anti-retaliation and confidentiality protections, the SEC does not release any identifying information about whistleblowers.

Overall, the SEC Whistleblower Program has awarded more than $1.9 billion to whistleblowers since it was established in 2010. The 2023 Fiscal Year was a record year for the program: it issued the largest single-year total in whistleblower awards, granted the single-largest award in program history, and received more whistleblower tips than in any previous year.

Geoff Schweller also contributed to this article.