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ARTICLE · 24 JUNE 2016

SEC Issues Near Record-Breaking Whistleblower Award

Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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On June 9, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced it awarded over $17 million to an ex-employee of a financial services firm.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Cliff Fonstein
Cliff Fonstein
Meredith-Anne Berger
Meredith-Anne Berger
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On June 9, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced it awarded over $17 million to an ex-employee of a financial services firm. The SEC's press release touts the award as the second-highest bounty ever handed to a whistleblower, bested only by a $30 million award from September 2014. This recent award brings the grand total of whistleblower awards to over $85 million since the bounty program began in 2011 and adds to the already substantial sum of $2.5 million awarded since January 2016.

Under Section 21-F of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, whistleblowers are entitled to a percentage of the recovery when certain criteria are satisfied. First, information "relating to a violation of the securities laws to the [SEC]," must be provided through "independent knowledge or analysis of a whistleblower." The information must then be used in a "covered judicial action," meaning monetary sanctions in excess of $1 million are

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