Experienced Criminal Defense Attorneys

Financial institutions are under the DOJ’s microscope

On Behalf of | Jul 23, 2024 | Federal Crimes

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been looking harder and harder at financial malfeasance in all corporations. 

While fraud in the health care industry, particularly when contracted with Medicare, has long been the DOJ’s focus, attention has shifted to banks, investment fund managers, brokerage firms and other financial institutions.

Those in the know are being given new incentives to blow the whistle

Essentially, the DOJ has taken a two-pronged approach to encouraging people who might have information about their employer’s wrongdoings to come forward and cooperate with prosecutors. 

In April, the DOJ announced the “Pilot Program on Voluntary Self-Disclosure for Individuals.” Anyone who “proactively” gave original information to the DOJ about criminal activity within their corporation would be given non-prosecution agreements (NPAs) for their role in the activity. 

The lure of an NPA could be strong for someone who got mixed up with money laundering, insider trading or some other illegal activity involving foreign corruption (all of which are being heavily targeted by the DOJ) before they realized their danger.

In addition, the DOJ plans to soon unveil a new program that will offer “whistleblowers” in the private financial sector financial rewards for information that leads to successful prosecutions. Similar to the way that whistleblowers who expose government contractor fraud, whistleblowers in the new program would be entitled to a percentage of any forfeitures that result from their information – and that can add up to millions.

Unfortunately, it’s entirely possible that people – whether due to their lack of understanding of certain processes or dollar signs in their eyes that are making them see malfeasance where none exists – will make reports that lead to unnecessary investigations and charges. If you find yourself targeted, find out more about your legal options.