Though it’s only a little more than one year old, the SEC’s Whistleblower Office has been inundated with more than 3,000 tips from informants about alleged securities fraud.
The program, which provides significant monetary rewards to whistleblowers who provide original information leading to a successful enforcement case, has seen a noticeable difference in the quality of information being received, said SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar in an Oct. 18 story by Marketwatch.
According to Aguilar, the SEC receives an average of eight tips per day; so far, tips have come from around the United States and some 45 foreign countries.
On Aug. 21, the SEC issued its first reward under the Whistleblower Program. The informant, who didn’t wish to be identified, received $50,000, or 30%, of the $150,000 thus far reclaimed out of the multimillion-dollar fraud that the person prevented, the SEC says.
The SEC whistleblower program was implemented under Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Act. It mainly intended to reward individuals who act early to expose violations and who provide significant evidence to help the SEC bring successful cases.