whistleblower law firm - Iorio Law PLLC

The SEC Issues First Whistleblower Award of 2024, Awarding $37 Million to Whistleblower

Iorio Law PLLC — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 18:22:45 GMT

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced a whistleblower award of more than $37 million to a whistleblower.

The whistleblower provided previously unknown information to the SEC and identified potential witnesses and documents. The help provided by the whistleblower significantly contributed to a successful enforcement action.

This award is the first payment made to a whistleblower in 2024. By way of comparison, in 2023, the SEC announced nine awards, which paid out over half of a billion dollars to informants. Payments to whistleblowers are made out of an investor protection fund, established by Congress. The investor protection fund is funded by fines and sanctions placed on wrongdoers who violate federal securities laws.

Congress established the whistleblower program to incentivize whistleblowers with specific, timely, and credible information about federal securities law violations to report to the SEC. A whistleblower may receive an award if they voluntarily provide the SEC with qualifying information, leading to successful enforcement. The award can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected due to the enforcement action.

Whistleblowers play an important role in fighting corruption, protecting retail investors, and maintaining a free and healthy market. Iorio Altamirano LLP, an investor advocate law firm, is committed to effectively representing whistleblowers.

Individuals with information regarding fraud or other violations of federal securities laws should contact whistleblower law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free consultation to review your legal rights on filing a whistleblower tip to the SEC and preserve eligibility to receive a whistleblower award.

Whistleblower Award Alert: The SEC Awards Record $279 Million to Whistleblower

Iorio Law PLLC — Fri, 05 May 2023 14:40:21 GMT

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced a whistleblower award of roughly $279 million to a whistleblower who provided information to the SEC, leading to a successful regulatory enforcement action by the SEC and another federal agency. This is the largest amount the SEC has ever awarded to a whistleblower, more than doubling the $114 million the SEC awarded to a whistleblower in October 2020.

Top 10 SEC Whistleblower Awards:

$279 million – May 5, 2023
$114 million – October 22, 2020
$110 million – September 15, 2021
$50 million – April 15, 2021
$50 million – March 19, 2018
$50 million – June 4, 2020
$39 million – September 6, 2018
$37 million – December 19, 2022
437 million – March 26, 2019
$36 million – September 24, 2021

In the SEC’s press release, Gubir S. Frewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, made the following statement: “This success directly benefits investors, as whistleblower tips have contributed to enforcement actions resulting in orders requiring bad actors to disgorge more than $4 billion in ill-gotten gains and interest. As this award shows, there is a significant incentive for whistleblowers to come forward with accurate information about potential securities law violations.”

Whistleblower Award Alert: The SEC Awards $36 Million to Whistleblower

Iorio Law PLLC — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 15:19:30 GMT

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced a whistleblower award of roughly $36 million to a whistleblower that provided information to the SEC on an illegal scheme. The information led to successful regulatory enforcement actions by the SEC and another federal agency.

In total, $161 million has been awarded to whistleblowers this month. On September 17, 2021, the SEC announced an award of $11.5 million to two whistleblowers. On September 15, 2021, the SEC announced two awards totaling $114 million. That award marked a milestone for the SEC’s 10-year-old whistleblower program, as it put the total amount of awards issued to over $1 billion.

In total, the SEC has awarded over $1.1 billion to 214 individuals since the whistleblower program became effective in August 2011. The awards are paid out of an investor protection fund established by Congress financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. Money is not taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards.

Individuals who have information regarding fraud or other violations of federal securities laws should contact whistleblower law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free consultation to review your legal rights on how to file a whistleblower tip to the SEC and preserve eligibility to receive a whistleblower award.

The SEC Has Awarded Over $1 Billion to Whistleblowers

Iorio Law PLLC — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 13:07:33 GMT

On September 15, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced whistleblower awards of roughly $110 million and $4 million to two whistleblowers. With these awards, the SEC has issued more than $1 billion to 207 whistleblowers, ten years after the SECs Whistleblower Program became effective. The program has issued a whopping $500 million in the fiscal year 2021 alone.

In the SEC’s press release, SEC Chair Gary Gensler issued the following statement:

“Today’s announcement underscores the important role that whistleblowers play in helping the SEC detect, investigate, and prosecute potential violations of the securities laws. The assistance that whistleblowers provide is crucial to the SEC’s ability to enforce the rules of the road for our capital markets.

SEC Director of Enforcement added the following comments:

“The whistleblower program has been instrumental to the success of numerous enforcement actions since it was instituted a decade ago. We hope that today’s announcement encourages whistleblowers to continue to come forward with credible information about potential violations of the securities laws.”

The $110 million award is the second-largest award in the SEC’s whistleblower program’s history and was issued 11 months after the SEC awarded its largest award of $114 million to a whistleblower. The $110 million award consists of an award of about $40 million connected with an SEC enforcement action and an award of approximately $70 million related to actions of another federal government agency. The whistleblower provided the SEC with significant independent analysis that substantially advanced both enforcement investigations.

In total, the SEC has awarded over $1 billion to 207 individuals since the whistleblower program became effective in August 2011. The awards are paid out of an investor protection fund established by Congress financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. Money is not taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards.

Whistleblower law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP is committed to the effective representation of whistleblowers. Individuals with credible information regarding fraud or other violations of federal securities laws should contact Iorio Altamirano LLP to review their legal rights.

Whistleblower Award Alert: The SEC Awards in Excess of $4 Million to Four Whistleblowers

Iorio Law PLLC — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 00:55:47 GMT

On August 2, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced whistleblower awards of more than $4 million to four whistleblowers who provided information and assistance to the SEC in two separate enforcement proceedings.

In the first enforcement proceeding, a whistleblower was awarded more than $2 million for providing the regulator with information that launched an investigation. The informant also provided the SEC with ongoing assistance by participating in interviews and identifying key individuals and entities. Another whistleblower was issued an award of $150,000 for providing the SEC with information that resulted in an expansion of the investigation.

In the second enforcement action, the SEC awarded more than $1.6 million to two whistleblowers. The first individual provided the SEC with information that alerted the SEC to the violations and was awarded $1.1 million. The second whistleblower was awarded $500,000 for providing significant and timely information.

In total, the SEC has awarded over $946 million to 190 individuals since the whistleblower program became effective in August 2011. The awards are paid out of an investor protection fund established by Congress financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. Money is not taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards.

Whistleblower Awards, Week of June 21 – 25, 2021

Iorio Law PLLC — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 18:03:57 GMT

During the week of January 21, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) awarded approximately $6.3 million to five whistleblowers.

First, on June 21, 2021, the SEC announced awards of nearly $4 million to an informant whose information led to the initiation of an SEC investigation that resulted in a successful enforcement action. According to the SEC’s press release, the whistleblower provided extraordinary assistance, participating in hours of telephonic interviews and communicating dozens of times with investigative staff. The whistleblower also identified key witnesses and provided documents to the staff.

Also, on June 21, 2021, the SEC awarded approximately $1.3 million to three whistleblowers who provided the SEC with information that prompted the opening of an investigation.

Finally, on June 24, 2021, the SEC announced an award of more than $1 million to an individual whose information and assistant led to multiple successful SEC enforcement actions. According to the SEC’s press release, the whistleblower provided SEC staff with valuable information and ongoing assistance, including participating in interviews with the staff.

In total, the SEC has awarded around $938 million to 179 individuals since the whistleblower program became effective in August 2011. All awards are paid out of an investor protection fund established by Congress that is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. No money has been taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards.

June 14, 2021: The SEC Awards $3 Million to Two Whistleblowers

Iorio Law PLLC — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 18:35:56 GMT

On June 14, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) revealed a total award of approximately $3 million to two whistleblowers. According to the SEC’s press release, the whistleblowers separately and independently provided the SEC with valuable information and ongoing assistance, which included participating in multiple interviews and providing helpful documents. The whistleblowers’ assistance led to a successful SEC enforcement action.

In total, the SEC has awarded around $932 million to 172 individuals since the whistleblower program became effective in August 2011. All awards are paid out of an investor protection fund established by Congress that is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. No money has been taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards.