How Much Do SEC Whistleblowers Get Paid?
Whistleblowers Can Receive Substantial Compensation for Coming Forward, But Their Compensation Depends on the Quality of Their Information and the Outcome of the SEC’s Investigation
The Dodd-Frank Act established the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Whistleblower Program in 2010. Under the terms of the program, whistleblowers are entitled to a portion of the SEC’s recovery in cases where they provide information that leads to a successful enforcement action. These portions can be substantial—in some cases in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars—but the specific amount each whistleblower receives depends on several factors.
Calculating SEC Whistleblower Award Amounts
The SEC Whistleblower Program is not a fixed-fee program. Instead, as the SEC explains:
“[A] whistleblower who voluntarily provides the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action in which the SEC obtains monetary sanctions exceeding $1 million may be eligible for an award. . . . Whistleblower awards can range from 10% to 30% of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million.”
Whistleblowers who come forward can help the SEC stop any form of securities fraud, and the SEC can pursue these cases civilly or criminally. As a result, the amount of monetary sanctions at stake can vary widely in SEC whistleblower cases. But, even in cases with relatively low monetary sanctions, whistleblower compensation can be substantial:
