Six years after Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act to reform Wall Street and prevent a future financial crisis from developing, the Securities and Exchange Commission is celebrating the success of the financial incentives created for whistleblowers to provide information about suspected violations of federal securities laws.
The SEC announced this week that it has paid out more than $100 million to whistleblowers since the beginning of the program and $50 million to SEC whistleblowers this year alone. In the press release celebrating the mark, SEC Chair Mary Jo White called the program a “game changer” for the agency. Andrew Ceresney, head of the enforcement division, similarly praised it for its “transformative impact” – allowing high quality cases to be brought quicker with fewer resources.
The Dodd-Frank Act has been controversial from the beginning. However, the financial incentives for whistleblowers have been a massive success. The SEC has received 14,000 tips about violations of federal securities laws and to date these tips have helped the U.S. Government recover more than half a billion dollars in penalties.
The announcement of the program’s success came on the heels of a $22 million award (the second highest in the history of the program) about accounting fraud that had previously led to a settlement of $80 million with the company.
The program appears to still be warming up – there was information from whistleblowers in two large financial cases settled this summer and another large reward announcement is expected soon based on reports in the media.
Even the CFTC whistleblower program, which the WSJ accused in an article earlier this year of being unable to give money away, has now paid out an award of more than $10 million.
To speak to our SEC whistleblower attorneys about this information or for an evaluation of a potential submission to the SEC, please call 1-800-590-4116.