SEC awards $260,000 to whistleblowers

Victims of a securities fraud have been granted a whistleblower award for reporting the misconduct to U.S. regulators.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced today that three investors who jointly tipped off the SEC to a “well-concealed fraud targeting retail investors” that resulted in a successful enforcement action will share a whistleblower award.

“The whistleblowers, who were themselves harmed investors, will collectively receive a payment of over US$260,000 based on current collections,” the SEC said.

“Because of the whistleblowers’ information and assistance early in the investigation, the SEC had strong evidence about a fraudulent scheme operated by recidivist violators,” said Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.

The SEC reports that it has now awarded approximately US$387 million to 70 whistleblowers since issuing its first award in 2012.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.