Washington, DC, April 29, 2023 – The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a $1.9 million whistleblower award to a whistleblower represented by Phillips & Cohen LLP. The SEC does not reveal whistleblowers’ identities with very limited exceptions. Phillips & Cohen’s client has chosen to remain anonymous.
Phillips & Cohen’s client’s “tip alerted Enforcement staff to the alleged violations, and the conduct would have been difficult to detect in the absence of Claimant’s information,” said the SEC in a press release.
“My client played a key role in a successful SEC enforcement action despite the risks it posed to the whistleblower,” said Erika Kelton, partner and whistleblower attorney with Phillips and Cohen.
Phillips & Cohen has won 15 SEC and CFTC whistleblower awards for clients under programs established by the Dodd-Frank Act, including the largest whistleblower award in 2022, totaling $40 million. The aggregate award concerns a single SEC whistleblower submission made by two Phillips and Cohen clients who filed jointly.
The SEC whistleblower program offers rewards, confidentiality, and protection from job retaliation. Whistleblower rewards are made in cases where monetary sanctions exceed $1 million. They range from 10% to 30% of the amount the government collects, based on certain factors, such as the value of the whistleblower’s information and the assistance the whistleblower and their attorneys provide in enforcement actions.