U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger Announces Creation of Whistleblower Non-Prosecution Pilot Program

Whistleblower Program

NEWARK, N.J. - U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today a new Whistleblower Non-Prosecution Pilot Program designed to proactively root out bribery, fraud, healthcare offenses, civil rights violations, corporate misconduct, and matters affecting the integrity of financial markets.

The program encourages individual participants in certain non-violent offenses to disclose their criminal conduct and provide cooperation against others who were involved. In exchange, the U.S. Attorney's Office will enter into a non-prosecution agreement where certain specified conditions are met, including the condition that the government was not previously aware of the criminal conduct that is the subject of the disclosure. By providing clarity on the requirements and the benefits of such self-disclosure, the office seeks to incentivize individuals and their counsel to provide actionable and timely information. That will, in turn, help bring more misconduct to light and better protect the citizens of New Jersey.

"We are always looking for new and effective ways to identify and aggressively pursue crime," U.S. Attorney Sellinger said. "This program sends a clear message that if you've helped commit a crime, you should come forward early and fully. If you don't, someone else will. To get on the right side of the law and take advantage of this program, email us using the instructions on our website."

DNJ's Whistleblower Non-Prosecution Pilot Program is for individuals who participated in criminal activity and face criminal liability; it is different from the Department of Justice's Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program, which is for individuals who did not meaningfully participate in criminal activity that falls within four subject areas, as further detailed at www.justice.gov/CorporateWhistleblower.

As with all internal policies of the U.S. Attorney's Office, this new program provides guidance to prosecutors. Nothing in these policies creates any substantive or procedural rights, privileges, or benefits enforceable in any administrative, civil, or criminal matter by prospective or actual witnesses or parties. It remains at all times the sole discretion of the U.S. Attorney's Office to determine whether an individual has satisfied each of the conditions necessary for the office to enter into a non-prosecution agreement in exchange for the individual's cooperation, and, where the office has determined that any of those conditions are not met, it remains at all times in the sole discretion of the office to determine whether to extend a non-prosecution agreement in exchange for the individual's cooperation.