The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on September 20, 2016, that it would award just over $4 million to a whistleblower. Committed to protecting whistleblowers’ confidentiality, the Commission did not disclose the individual’s identity or the involved organization. However, the SEC acknowledged that the whistleblower’s “original information alerted the agency to a fraud.” This substantial award raises the 2016 year-to-date SEC award total to approximately $52.5 million, making 2016 by far the most lucrative year for whistleblowers. The SEC has now awarded more than $111 million to 34 whistleblowers since the program’s inception in 2011.

Whistleblowers who voluntarily provide information to the Commission, which leads to a successful enforcement action of $1 million or more, are entitled to between 10 and 30 percent of the money the SEC recovers from those sanctions. For more information about the SEC Whistleblower Program, download a free copy of Katz Banks Kumin’ SEC Whistleblower Practice Guide.