The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced whistleblower awards in connection with three separate enforcement actions totaling over $3.6 million.
In the first order, where the whistleblower was represented by Sallah Astarita & Cox, LLC, the SEC awarded a whistleblower over $1.8 million for providing significant information about a fraudulent scheme. The whistleblower took immediate steps to mitigate the harm to investors, and provided substantial assistance to the staff, including providing testimony, key documents, and other information that saved SEC time and resources and contributed to an enforcement action that resulted in the return of millions of dollars to harmed investors.
In the second order, the SEC awarded a whistleblower more than $1.2 million for providing information that led to a successful enforcement action. In making the award, the SEC determined that the whistleblower’s culpability and unreasonable delay impacted the award amount.
In the third order, the SEC awarded more than $500,000 to a whistleblower who provided significant information and ongoing assistance that led to the success of an enforcement action. In issuing the award, the SEC waived the TCR filing requirement based on the unique facts and circumstances of the case.
“Today’s three awards demonstrate the SEC’s continuing commitment to making awards to individuals who provide high-quality information that assists the agency in bringing successful enforcement actions,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “These awards also show that the Commission will take into account the unique facts and circumstances of each matter, in accordance with the whistleblower rules, when determining eligibility and the amount of the award.”
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Mark Astarita is a nationally recognized securities attorney, who represents investors, financial professionals and firms in securities litigation, arbitration and regulatory matters, including SEC and FINRA investigations and enforcement proceedings.
He is a partner in the national securities law firm Sallah Astarita & Cox, LLC, and the founder of The Securities Law Home Page - SECLaw.com, which was one of the first legal topic sites on the Internet. It went online in 1995 and is updated daily with news, commentary and securities law related links.
