Statement on the SEC’s Whistleblower Numbers for FY 2023
Washington, DC, November 14, 2023—Fiscal year 2023 was a record-breaking year for the SEC’s Whistleblower Program. The agency issued whistleblower awards totaling nearly $600 million, the most ever awarded in one year and received over 18,000 whistleblower tips.
Statement of Sean McKessy, partner at Phillips & Cohen, the principal architect of the SEC’s whistleblower program, and the first Chief of the SEC Whistleblower Office:
“When the SEC hired me to build out the Office of the Whistleblower and set up the Whistleblower Program in 2011, I accepted the challenge because of the Program’s vast potential for fraud detection and prevention. It is therefore highly gratifying to see the Program continue to attract ever-increasing numbers of individuals coming forward to report potential wrongdoing. Fiscal Year 2023 was yet another in a series of record-breaking years in terms of tips submitted (over 18,000) and whistleblower awards paid (nearly $600 million). This record-breaking year will hopefully motivate other knowledgeable individuals to step forward and report securities fraud to the SEC, providing substantial future benefits to the agency and harmed investors.”