Whistleblower Tips Rise Again In 2015

The Securities and Exchange Commission released its 2015 Annual Report on its Whistleblower Program this week and announced another rise in the number of whistleblower tips that it received.  The SEC reported receiving 3,923 tips during its 2015 Fiscal Year, which is up from 3,620 in 2014 (as we previously reported), and up over 30% from 2012, which was the first full year that these numbers were reported.  Additionally, in its FY 2015, the SEC paid out $37 million to whistleblowers, which included a whopping reward of over $30 million to just one whistleblower.  The SEC's Office of the Whistleblower (OWB) rewards whistleblowers for "their provision of original information that led to a successful Commission enforcement action with monetary sanctions totaling over $1 million" and can net tipsters between 10% and 30%, which is the statutory maximum allowed under the Dodd-Frank Act.