(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a $5 million award to a whistleblower who provided significant information that led to a successful enforcement action. The whistleblower provided critical evidence of wrongdoing, which helped save time and resources in the SEC’s investigation, and the whistleblower suffered a unique hardship as a result of raising concerns internally.

“The whistleblower award today is the seventh award the SEC has announced to individual whistleblowers in the last month,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “These awards demonstrate the valuable contributions whistleblowers make to the protection of markets and investors and we encourage people to come forward with information about possible securities law violations.”

The SEC has awarded approximately $430 million to 80 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012. All payments are made out of an investor protection fund established by Congress that is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. No money has been taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards. Whistleblowers may be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action. Whistleblower awards can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million.

As set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC protects the confidentiality of whistleblowers and does not disclose information that could reveal a whistleblower’s identity.