[ by Melanie Gretchen ] The SEC may be onto something.  Its program to encourage and reward individuals who cooperate in SEC investigations and litigation has returned $217 million to victims of fraud and additional penalties totaling $27.5 million. In 2010, AXA Rosenberg, a quant subsidiary of AXA S.A., the French financial services giant, covered up a computer error, affecting more than 600 client portfolios and caused some $217 million in losses.  With the Cooperation Initiative, the SEC was able to find an ally in the firm's senior executive early on, who facilitated and provided substantial assistance the investigation of a complex and high priority case involving quantitative investment models, toward the Commission's action. The program was started to stop fraud, secure strong settlement and trial outcomes, and return funds to harmed investors.  With cooperating witnesses, the Commission can investigate misconduct more quickly and efficiently due to the high-quality nature of their evidence; increase the likelihood of stopping ongoing misconduct, thus minimizing the amount of investor loss and number of victims; unlock the intricacies of cases involving complex markets, transactions and products; and build more and better cases against the organizers, leaders and other higher-ups who cover their tracks and operate through subordinates. For further details, go to [SEC, 3/19/12] , [NYTimes, 6/19/10], and [SEC, 3/19/12].