April 2, 2020
On March 30, 2020 the SEC announced an award of $450,000 to a compliance official turned whistleblower whose information led to a successful enforcement action. What makes this award significant is that the whistleblower learned of the misconduct while handling compliance matters for their employer. The official followed the chain of command and reported the matter to their direct supervisor. But the report fell on deaf ears. More than four months passed. When the company failed to take action, the compliance official reported the misconduct to the SEC. The SEC used the information provided by the compliance official to focus its ongoing investigation. In the end, the SEC imposed substantial monetary penalties against the company. And then the SEC provided a whistleblower award of $450,000 to the compliance official.