SEC Pays Out Its Largest Whistleblower Award So Far, By Far

Do you remember that Dodd-Frank financial-reform law we passed a couple years ago? Well, among many other things, it authorized the Securities & Exchange Commission to pay out whistleblower awards of 10-30% of the money it recovers in an enforcement action, if the whistleblower supplies high-quality, original information that results in monetary sanctions over $1 million. Previously, the Commission had paid out awards of about $50,000. This time around: $14 million. And the agency is just getting started, so we can expect the program to be a major part of its enforcement efforts going forward.