In a development that shows the wide range of individuals who are eligible to receive millions in awards from the federal government, the SEC announced in late July 2017 that it would be awarding $2.5 million to a government employee who provided the SEC with “original information” relating to securities violations. While the award of a multimillion dollar financial recovery to whistleblower is becoming regular news – with the SEC now having awarded $156 million to various whistleblowers over the past seven years alone – what is notable is that the individual who will receive the award is not an employee, executive, or partner of the violating entity, but rather a public-service government employee.
Details of the Underlying SEC Violation Are Kept Confidential
In announcing the $2.5 million award on July 25, the SEC provided no details on the individual who provided the information, what entity the information was relating to, or the SEC violations that occurred. The only information the SEC provided specific to the situation was as follows:
“The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of nearly $2.5 million to an employee of a domestic government agency whose whistleblower tip helped launch an SEC investigation and whose continued assistance enabled the SEC to address a company’s misconduct.
The SEC does not release information about whistleblowers so as to protect the identity of the whistleblowers so as to encourage future whistleblowers to come forward without fear of loss of confidentiality and unwanted publicity.
What is again notable about this case is that it was an employee of a “domestic government agency” that brought the information, which means that there were certainly others closer to the underlying violation, e.g. employees, executives, and other close observers, who might have themselves brought the information forward in order to receive the $2.5 million award, but who instead may find themselves damaged by the investigation that nevertheless proceeded.
Recovering Your Own SEC Award as a Company Insider
If you are aware of misconduct in your organization that violates SEC regulations, you too may be able to recover a significant financial reward by presenting information related to the misconduct to the SEC Whistleblower Office. By working with an experienced whistleblower attorney, you can not only improve your chances of recovering an award (typically 10% to 30% of the total recovery made by the SEC as result of the information provided), but also take steps to protect yourself from retaliation in the process.
At Kreindler & Associates, we are committed to helping whistleblowers win maximum compensation by bringing wrongdoing to light, while taking all necessary precautions to protect their interests. To learn more about how Kreindler & Associates can help in your SEC whistleblower matter, see here.
