SEC Issues Annual Report on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program for Fiscal 2012

The Dodd Frank Whistleblower Program has been in effect for 18 months and thousands of tips have been pouring in from whistleblowers worldwide. 

According to the Annual Report on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program published by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in November 2012, the agency received 3,001 whistleblower tips during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012.  Approximately half of the tips pertained to three categories of allegations as the following chart illustrates:  

Allegation Type                                                               Number of Tips          % of Total Tips

Corporate Disclosure and Financials	547	18.2%
Offering Fraud	465	15.5%
Manipulation	457	15.2%
Subtotal- 3 allegation types	1,469	48.9%
Total Worldwide Tips	3,001

 

Also, while the SEC received tips from whistleblowers in all 50 states along with 49 countries outside theUnited States, more than a third of the tips were submitted from whistleblowers in just four states: 

State                                      Number of Tips            % of Total Tips

California	435	14.5%
New York	246	8.2%
Florida	202	6.7%
Texas	159	5.3%
Subtotal- 4 states	1,042	34.7%
Total Worldwide Tips	3,001

 

            The SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower (“OWB”) posts a Notice of Covered Action for each Commission enforcement action where a final judgment or order results in monetary sanctions exceeding $1 million.  The OWB posted 143 Notices of Covered Action for enforcement judgments and orders during the year ended September 30, 2012 and the SEC reported that the OWB will continue to review and process applications for awards that were received during fiscal 2012. 

When awards are issued, whistleblowers receive payment from the SEC Investor Protection Fund (“Fund”) established pursuant to Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Act.  At the end of fiscal 2012, the Fund’s balance was $453.4 million. 

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