SEC awards whistleblower more than $7 million for assistance

February 2020 was a bad month for some in the investment industry, but a great month for a Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) whistleblower.

Remember Wells Fargo’s $500 million hit for misleading investors about one of its core business strategies? That was a tough blow. But that same month, the SEC awarded one whistleblower more than $7 million for providing extensive and sustained assistance, including the identification of witnesses. 

According to Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, “The whistleblower showed great tenacity and effort in attempting to expose the misconduct that was the basis for the SEC’s action.”

It was that “whistleblower’s information and assistance,” she says, that “helped the SEC staff devise an investigative plan, craft document requests, and ultimately bring an important enforcement action focusing on serious financial abuses.”

Big money for truth-seekers

The SEC has awarded approximately $394 million to 73 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012. 

Payments are made out of an investor protection fund established by Congress that is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators.  Whistleblowers may be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to successful enforcement action. 

Awards can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million.

Whistleblower awards come from SEC fines and penalties

And as an investment firm, that means it comes out of your pockets. That’s why compliance matters. And that is where Patrina can help. For more than 25 years, Patrina has been helping uniquely committed compliance professionals stay on the “straight and narrow” efficiently and cost-effectively. So, let’s talk. Call 212-233-1155 to ask about Patrina’s cost-effective designated third-party services, our comprehensive 8-module compliance solution, and compliant data capture & file storage, and records archiving specifically designed for the financial services community. Be smart. Be covered. Let’s talk.