SEC Issues First Award Under New Whistleblower Program

Summary: The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued the first “bounty payment” under its one-year-old whistleblower program. While the SEC has protected the identity of the whistleblower by keeping secret many of the details, the existence of tangible rewards for those who provide useful information to the SEC has been widely publicized. Going forward, public companies should expect to see more whistleblower awards issued by the SEC, and should also be prepared for an increase in both internal and SEC complaints.