SEC Office of the Whistleblower

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whistleblower program went into effect on July 21, 2010, when the President signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The same law also established a whistleblower incentive program at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is run by former senior SEC enforcement attorney Christopher C. Ehrman. The program rewards people who submit tips related to violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. The SEC can make awards ranging from 10 to 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected, which are paid from its Investor Protection Fund.

While the SEC had in place a bounty program for more than 20 years to reward whistleblowers for insider trading tips and complaints, an Office of the Inspector General's 2013 report found the Commission had received very few applications from individuals seeking a bounty, and there were very few payments made under the program, possibly because the program was not widely recognized. The report also determined the program was not well-designed. The former Chief of the Office of the Whistleblower Sean McKessy left the agency in July 2016 after serving for five years and later joined a whistleblower law firm. On January 17, 2012, the SEC whom had then named Jane A. Norberg to the Office’s Deputy Chief roll.Jane A. Norberg took over for the departing Sean McKessy departed in July 2016. when it was announced that Sean McKessy, Chief of Whistleblower Office Leave his office. The SEC named Jane A. Norberg Chief of the Office of the Whistleblower on September 28, 2016.

Former director Sean McKessy once said he understood the public's skepticism about the program. "I view it as already having been a very significant success, but I understand that people want to see the deliverable. And the deliverable, in our view, is paying people for good information," he said. He added that he welcomes the opportunity to make payouts: "The more, the better, obviously. The higher the amounts, the better," he said. "We are likely to see more awards at a faster pace now that the program has been up and running and the tips we have gotten are leading to successful cases," McKessy told the Wall Street Journal in June 2013.

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