SEC Awards More Than $9.2 Million to Whistleblower for Successful Related Actions, Including Agreement With DOJ
summary
The SEC awarded over $9.2 million to a whistleblower whose information led to DOJ enforcement actions, including a non-prosecution or deferred prosecution agreement.
paragraph
The SEC announced a whistleblower award exceeding $9.2 million for information that enabled the recovery of significant funds for harmed investors. The whistleblower's contributions supported successful actions by the U.S. Department of Justice, including a non-prosecution or deferred prosecution agreement. This marks the first award of its kind following the December 2020 amendments to the SEC whistleblower program rules.
narrative
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has awarded more than $9.2 million to a whistleblower for providing critical information regarding an ongoing fraud. This information led to successful enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Justice, including a non-prosecution or deferred prosecution agreement. The whistleblower also traveled at their own expense to assist the DOJ with interviews. This announcement is significant as it is the first SEC whistleblower award based on a DOJ NPA or DPA since the 2020 rule amendments. The whistleblower had previously received an award for contributions to an SEC enforcement action based on the same underlying information. All awards are paid from an investor protection fund financed by sanctions from securities law violators, ensuring no money is taken from harmed investors.
Classified unclassified. No EDGAR filing fingerprint (criminal/DOJ-side scheme). detection rule →
Parties
contributions to sec enforcement actionDepartment of Justicedoj interviews at own expensedoj npa or dpa entered afterjane norbergongoing fraud to secsec office of the whistleblowerSecurities and Exchange Commissionsec whistleblower awardssec whistleblower program amendmentssuccessful doj actions including npa/dpawhistleblower awards
Keywords
whistleblowersecawardrelated actionsinformationdojmillion whistleblowersuccessful relatedmillionrelatedawardssuccessfulactionsagreementprovided
Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 3
- $750.00M $750 million $100M–$1B
- $9.20M $9.2 million $1M–$10M
- $1.00M $1 million $1M–$10M
Entities 12
- agency contributions to sec enforcement action
- agency Department of Justice
- agency doj interviews at own expense
- agency doj npa or dpa entered after
- person jane norberg
- agency ongoing fraud to sec
- agency sec office of the whistleblower
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- agency sec whistleblower awards
- agency sec whistleblower program amendments
- agency successful doj actions including npa/dpa
- person whistleblower awards
Triples 13
- SEC announced award of $9.2 million to whistleblower
- Whistleblower provided information leading to successful DOJ actions including NPA/DPA
- Whistleblower previously received award for contributions to SEC enforcement action
- Whistleblower provided information about ongoing fraud to SEC
- SEC provided information to DOJ
- Whistleblower provided assistance by traveling to DOJ interviews at own expense
- SEC whistleblower program amendments became effective on December 7, 2020
- DOJ NPA or DPA entered after deemed administrative action eligible for whistleblower award
- Jane Norberg is Chief of SEC Office of the Whistleblower
- SEC awarded $750 million to 136 individuals since 2012
- SEC whistleblower awards financed by investor protection fund from monetary sanctions
- Whistleblower awards range from 10 percent to 30 percent of money collected when sanctions exceed $1 million
- SEC protects confidentiality of whistleblowers per Dodd-Frank Act
PDF (from attached: pdf)
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,660c)
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of more than $9.2 million to a whistleblower who provided information that led to successful related actions by the U.S. Department of Justice, one of which was a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) or deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). The whistleblower previously received an award for contributions to an SEC enforcement action based on the same information that supported the award for the related actions, a prerequisite for eligibility for a related-action award. The whistleblower provided significant information about an ongoing fraud to the SEC that enabled a large amount of money to be returned to investors harmed by the fraud. The SEC in turn provided that information to the DOJ. The whistleblower also provided significant assistance by traveling at the whistleblower’s own expense to be interviewed by DOJ. The award announced today marks the first SEC whistleblower award announcement based on a NPA or DPA with DOJ since amendments to the SEC’s whistleblower program rules became effective on Dec. 7, 2020. Among other things, those amendments deem a DOJ NPA or DPA entered into after July 21, 2010, to be an administrative action that may be a “related action” that is eligible for a whistleblower award from the SEC. “This award reflects the Commission’s determination that a whistleblower’s eligibility for an award should not depend on the procedural vehicle a federal agency selects to resolve an enforcement matter,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “Deserving whistleblowers, like today’s awardee, will be rewarded regardless of the path used to successfully conclude the matter.” The SEC has awarded more than $750 million to 136 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012. All 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. No money has been taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards. Whistleblowers may be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action. Whistleblower awards can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million. As set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC protects the confidentiality of whistleblowers and does not disclose information that could reveal a whistleblower’s identity. For more information about the whistleblower program and how to report a tip, visit: www.sec.gov/whistleblower
OCR text (2,660c · html-text · 99% conf)
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of more than $9.2 million to a whistleblower who provided information that led to successful related actions by the U.S. Department of Justice, one of which was a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) or deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). The whistleblower previously received an award for contributions to an SEC enforcement action based on the same information that supported the award for the related actions, a prerequisite for eligibility for a related-action award. The whistleblower provided significant information about an ongoing fraud to the SEC that enabled a large amount of money to be returned to investors harmed by the fraud. The SEC in turn provided that information to the DOJ. The whistleblower also provided significant assistance by traveling at the whistleblower’s own expense to be interviewed by DOJ. The award announced today marks the first SEC whistleblower award announcement based on a NPA or DPA with DOJ since amendments to the SEC’s whistleblower program rules became effective on Dec. 7, 2020. Among other things, those amendments deem a DOJ NPA or DPA entered into after July 21, 2010, to be an administrative action that may be a “related action” that is eligible for a whistleblower award from the SEC. “This award reflects the Commission’s determination that a whistleblower’s eligibility for an award should not depend on the procedural vehicle a federal agency selects to resolve an enforcement matter,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “Deserving whistleblowers, like today’s awardee, will be rewarded regardless of the path used to successfully conclude the matter.” The SEC has awarded more than $750 million to 136 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012. All 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. No money has been taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards. Whistleblowers may be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action. Whistleblower awards can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million. As set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC protects the confidentiality of whistleblowers and does not disclose information that could reveal a whistleblower’s identity. For more information about the whistleblower program and how to report a tip, visit: www.sec.gov/whistleblower