Winnetka Man Gets $750K in Whistleblower Award From SEC

WINNETKA, IL - A Winnetka man known for his crusades against high-frequency traders was recently presented a $750,000 whistleblower award from the Securities and Exchange Commission for unearthing information that led to a $5 million fine being levied against the New York Stock Exchange.

Eric Scott Hunsader, who operates Nanex - a market data business atop a nail salon in his hometown - says he will use the money to send his four daughters to college, but that it’s less than what he makes on an annual basis, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Hunsader first alerted the SEC in 2010 of information he had that the NYSE was sending price data to customers who paid for proprietary feeds a few seconds before the feeds were shared with the public. It took two years for the investigation to be completed by the SEC, who then levied the $5 million fine.

Hunsader argued that the NYSE’s practice then gave the more high-frequency traders an unfair advantage, and that the $5 million was “way too light.”

“It should have been $100 million,” he told the Tribune.

Not only was the award from the SEC less than Hunsader’s annual income, he claims it is also less than “the reputational loss I’ve suffered.”

more via the Chicago Tribune